"GHH! MY HAND'S BURNING!!" Ryo parried yet another attack.

He was exhausted.

'H-How many times... have I even deflecte— GGRH. I- I guess— I have no chan— Wai— ' While deflecting another attack, an idea came to his mind.

Ryo lifted his feet, which had buried into the ground, and began dashing toward the left. Leaving behind Weyr.

'Please— Please work.' Ryo moved sluggishly, his hand was covered in blood, the artifact no longer worked. There were countless burns all over his torso and arms.

"You... disappoint me." Weyr grabbed Ryo by the head and slammed him onto the ground with the force of a goliath crushing its prey.

"ARGHHG!" Ryo's screams echoed through the battlefield, his tears streaming uncontrollably.

"Why... have you not used your Lineage yet? Or was it all some lie? Is this... all you amount to?" Weyr brushed Ryo's hair with a sense of pity and discontent.

'I-If I could u-use Lux's Line- age I woul- d've... A- Ah... A- at least I can—' Ryo let out a pained cough and spoke in a rough, coarse voice, "See, do you know about the Laws of Resistance? cough! You see, every artifact is— equipp— AGRH!!" 

Before he could finish, Weyr buried his head deeper into the ground.

"Do you think that stalling for... time will save you?" The corners of Weyr's mouth curled slightly.

'Y-Yes. It— might—' A muffled voice came from beneath the ground, "Stage... Blue."

The artifact, which no longer seemed to be working, lit up in a bright shade of blue. It hummed its song once again.

Ryo lifted his arm, screaming, and twisted it backward, pointing at Weyr.

"And, what... will this d— "

A loud sound of gunfire made everyone nearby deaf for a brief moment. As the smoke disappeared, Weyr spoke, unscathed, "So, is this you calling for help?" he asked.

'GRH. He k-knows, or ma— cough! maybe it he made a guess... C-Can I bluff my way out of th- this...' He was running out of breath now, barely any air going into his lungs.

"Yeah, this is me calling for help," he said, masking his pain with a tone of arrogance.

'I can't... Where are... the—' A cold breeze passed by his feet; the grip of Weyr loosened. He could finally breathe.

"HAHH." He panted, grasping all the air he could.

'They're here. I-should get up—' Ryo slowly lifted both his arms and slammed them onto the ground, his arms gripping the ground, trying to lift his body up. However, it was a miserable attempt. The damage to his body was far too much for him to function.

A high-pitched male voice came from Ryo's right side, "We're here now, General Lux."

'Ah... Charles. Then, that cold breeze... it must be Amir. If they're here... then Knox should be there too.' Ryo stretched his hand out, trying to grab Charles if he was still near him.

"What is it, General Lux?" he asked, distracted.

"C-Can you— " He gasped. "Around— I need to... see."

No reply came. All sounds around Ryo seemed muffled to him now. Suddenly, there was a loud bang that could be heard near his ears.

"Got it!" Charles replied.

After a few seconds, he felt his body be lifted up, turned around. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head left and right a few times. He was stunned.

Charles sat on his knees, right next to him. He held an old-fashioned stylized pistol, possibly custom made. It had a sleek white paint with a black grip attached to it. The barrel of the gun was covered in a color of crimson red. Ryo assumed it was blood.

In front of him were two figures.

One was constantly moving around Weyr. In his hand was a sleek black blade, covered in blood. The other stood at some distance from Weyr; above him floated crystals of ice. As Ryo was observing this fight with his blurry sight, a question came to his mind.

'Why is there no one... nearby? I— I thought there'd be someo— cough! someone who would try to attack me, or try to jump into the fight.' Ryo tried turning his head in curiosity, but he couldn't. So all he could do was be on alert in case someone tried to attack him in his current state. Charles was right beside him, however, he was absorbed in their fight against Weyr.

And so, Ryo's eyes once again focused on the blurred fight in front of him.

Swords clashed with each other. It seemed that the sword in Knox's hand was not affected by the molten heat of Weyr's flesh blade.

Weyr's legs seemed to be shaking a bit because of the slippery ice beneath his feet, made by Amir's Genesis.

They were winning, but Ryo was still worried. The reason?

Weyr had still not used his Genesis.

"I-I think we— need more support. W-Why isn't— Weyr using his Genesis?" Ryo spent a few seconds lost in his thoughts before coming to a singular logical conclusion based on what he had read about Weyr.

He slowly opened his mouth and whispered to Charles, "Genesis Euphoria."

Hearing this, Charles’s eyes widened in shock. "That's not— Wait... oh." Charles lifted his free hand near his ears, activating his communications device.

"Knox. I- General Lux and I think Weyr has Genesis Euphoria," he said, as he pulled the trigger once more.

"Are you sure?!" Knox's blade clashed with Weyr's once more.

"Amir!" he shouted, still engaged in his fight. "How long are you even going to stand there?! Use it already—"

In a low voice, Amir muttered, "Alright, alright."

Everything within a four-meter range froze.

Weyr's molten flesh began cooling down, his breath became heavier too. However, the same applied to Knox; his movements became slightly cranky, and breath heavy too.

Ryo saw this sight, but instead of worry—he was relieved.

'I—We'll win. Hahaha... we'll win... A-Ah.' A sudden realization came. 'My voice, I can't spea—'

'Any moment now, use it already you old fuck.' Knox increased the intensity of his attacks; they grew fiercer. They seemed to lust for Weyr's Genesis.

As Ryo's mind kept spiraling, a question came to his mind.

He had thought correctly.

The sound of Genesis boomed across the field. Weyr had finally used his Genesis.

"I'll— FUCKING KILL YOU TH—" Before he could finish, his head was trimmed off, falling onto the ground.

They won. Weyr was now dead.

Ashen's sword clashed and pushed back both Caesar and Kaits. He planted his sword onto the ground as sparks of purple appeared around him. His eyes closed, and his expression rested.

'If anything happens to the kid, Commander Ashen will kill us, most likely. I should take care of him, I guess.' Knox stretched his hands and quietly lifted up Ryo with his large, bloodstained hands.

'We won—' A smile crept up on Ryo's face before he passed out.