Fury ignited the air as the soldiers magdumped a barrage of blinding plasma fire, their faces contorted with rage. The target of their wrath, a lone figure advancing through the battlefield, remained unnervingly calm amidst the chaos. With a casual tap to his chestpiece, an invisible barrier flared to life around him. Each blast was deflected mere inches from his body, the air shimmering with dissipated energy as he closed the distance.

"It's all over for you guys. The boss man is here." The commanding officer mumbled.

"Who!?" Kalla demanded.

He responded with a name, "Rook."

Desperation replaced strategy as the soldiers abandoned their ranged assault. Without leadership, they surged forward in a chaotic wave, their collective battle cry drowning out reason.

"Stop! You know you can't beat him!" Kalla called out.

Her warning was drowned by their screams, swallowed by their blind rage. Logical thought had abandoned them, replaced by aggression as they converged on Rook. Yet he remained unnaturally composed, unlatching a seemingly harmless device from his belt. Nothing more than a bladeless handle that appeared laughably inadequate against the approaching horde.

Never judge a book by its cover.

The air crackled with energy as a bordeaux-colored beam erupted from the handle, elongating and shaping itself with hypnotic fluidity. It stretched until it extended nearly six feet in length, forming an energy whip. Rook exhibited masterful control, the whip snapping and dancing around him in an intimidating display. The whip trailed behind him like an extension of his body as he charged toward the oncoming attackers with an evil smirk.

Planting his feet with a powerful stomp, Rook transferred his momentum into a devastating, focused lash. The whip sliced across the air, leaving superheated particles in its wake. The front line of soldiers were cleaved in two as their top halves collapsed in grotesque sync. The attack ended in a terrifying crack as the whip's tip broke the sound barrier.

Reality crashed down upon them, their expressions shifting from rage to terror as they scrambled backward. Exploiting their fear, Rook regathered the whip, spinning it overhead. His eyes locked onto a fleeing target, ruthlessly lashing the whip through the air.

Before he could claim another victim, Kalla descended from above in a blur of movement, sweeping up the target to safety. She dropped the rescued soldier aside before regrouping with Xavier, forming a barrier between Rook and his prey.

Xavier broke the tense silence. "I don't know who you are, why you're here, or how you have access to such lethal weaponry. But your rampage stops... right now!"

Rook tilted his head with contemptuous indifference. "Rook... weapon testing... none of your damn business."

"A man of few words, just my type. Too bad you're a psycho," Kalla added, ready to engage.

Rook cracked his neck. "Let's do this."

The handle in his grip pulsed with renewed energy as a second whip materialized from the opposite end, creating a dual-ended weapon that defied conventional combat logic. With effortless skill, he spun the dual sided whip above his head with one hand. Xavier and Kalla maintained their defensive positions, intently observing his movements, a miscalculation that would cost them dearly.

Rook pulled the handle toward his chest, and the whips responded by almost coiling around him like serpents. Before they could completely chop him up, the ropes suddenly stopped, defying physics. The gap in combat experience became painfully evident at that moment.

The twin energy ropes snapped back outward with immense speed, their tips colliding at a precise point. Resulting in an explosion of light and sound that disoriented the two students. A built-in flashbang that only Rook had anticipated. Using the opening, he launched his attack.

Xavier forced his tearing eyes open, desperately trying to track the blurry figure accelerating toward him. He enlarged his fist in a desperate defensive measure, jabbing blindly at his attacker. Rook activated jump boots, propelling himself over the clumsy counterattack to fall behind Xavier. Landing as he attached an explosive device to Xavier's back.

"One down."

tick tick tick BOOM!

Detonating with a controlled blast designed to incapacitate rather than kill. Xavier crumpled to the ground, unconscious but alive. He shifted his attention to Kalla, who was struggling to recover her senses. Furiously rubbing her eyes and blinking rapidly to clear her vision.

"The joke's on you, I never needed to see to fight anyway!"

Rook rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "You're lucky I didn't just kill you both."

"You can't, can you? Guess there's no need to worry then. I can go all out!"

"I doubt that."

The seemingly limp whip suddenly animated with a mind of its own, piercing toward Kalla. The speed of the attack exceeded her compromised reaction time. In the fraction of a second before impact, Kago appeared at her side. Producing a mushroom cap from his forearm like a sheild. It took the impact of the energy whip, absorbing its energy upon contact.

Jai sat at the edge of the battlefield near the OPP, his eyes widening at the sight of sables.

Kago shivered as the absorbed energy coursed through his system. "Oooooo, Soul Energy."

"Bastard!" Jai yelled. "How dare you kill Sables!"

Colored whips? It must be Soul Energy!

Jai's expression shifted from anger to intrigue as he looked at Kago. "That explains the unique color and abnormal movements! We can take him!"

"No Jai, this is bad. We're so cooked!"

Kalla's mind raced. Soul Energy huh? Those two won't stand much of a chance either, I need to make another call.

She turned to retreat from Kagos protection, calling over her shoulder: "You two! He can't kill you, so keep him busy for as long as you can! Don't underestimate him!"

Kago responded with an exaggerated yawn while Jai slammed his fist into his palm, both harboring identical thoughts.

This is my chance to prove myself!

Rook redirected his attention to the two young fighters, pulling apart the weapon's handle into two. Now wielding twin six-foot energy whips, he spun them in hypnotic patterns as he advanced on Kago and Jai.

"More Saviors? This is getting fun!" Rook yelled, starting to let loose.

Meanwhile, Kalla ducked behind a nearby building, calling for reinforcements through speed dial. From a distance well beyond the whips' apparent reach, Rook lashed out at Jai. The energy strand unexpectedly elongated, nearly connecting. Jai twisted his body to evade the whip, passing so close that he felt its heat singe his skin. He and Kago split in opposite directions, implementing a divide-and-conquer strategy.

Jai thought as he fought. Interesting. The other side of his whip shortened for the other to lengthen. Meaning it's true that there's only a set amount of Soul Energy that can be used. We could use that to our advantage!

Working in tandem, Kago and Jai attacked Rook from different angles, forcing him to defend multiple fronts. Each strike was calculated to provoke a response. Jai evaded with millisecond precision while Kago neutralized strikes with his absorptive mushrooms. They maintained this defensive strategy for a full minute, buying precious time. Rook's patience visibly thinned as he attempted a decisive strike against Jai, only to find his weapon falling just short of its target.

Jai smirked. Gotcha!

Exploiting Kago's absorption ability, they systematically depleted Rook's Soul Energy reserves until his whips were reduced to mere inches. Now extending barely a third of its original length, it was a critical vulnerability that Jai immediately recognized. Closing the distance, Jai delivered a long-awaited strike to Rook's face. The impact sent the mercenary sprawling onto the ground, blood spattering from his nose. Both young fighters retreated to a safe distance, unwilling to press their advantage recklessly.

Rook rose slowly, using his thumb to wipe away the blood from his nose. His gaze locked onto Jai with newfound respect, knowing that this plan was all his.

"You. What's your name?"

"Jai."

"Jai... with time, you may very well be a formidable foe."

"Thanks?"

"I'll have to kill you here before you become too strong to handle. No hard feelings, okay?"

"Sorry, but I have no intention of dying here today."

"Unfortunately, only the strongest get to decide that."

In a blur of movement, Rook unhitched the trailer. Closing the distance to Jai before he could even register the threat. A simple dagger sat at Jai's throat, poised for a killing stroke. In the instant before the blade could cut, a new combatant entered the fray. Derro arrived with an explosive kick, connecting squarely with Rook and sending him tumbling away from Jai.

Kalla emerged from cover, quickly tapping Kago's shoulder as he observed from a distance.

"D's got this now. Help me get Xavier back to the OPP where it's safe."

Kago exhaled forcefully through his nostrils like a bull preparing to charge. "Of course!"

On the battlefield, Derro and Rook squared off, assessing each other with the calculating eyes of seasoned veterans. Their impending clash promised to elevate the conflict to an entirely new level of intensity.

"I couldn't agree more," Derro declared, ripping off his shirt to reveal his battle-ready physique. "Leave the rest to me."