Breathing heavily, Klause and Zhòng Biān lunged at each other. Klause opened his bloody left eye, holding his sheathed katana horizontally, while the tip of Zhòng Biān's Sanjiegun glowed at its peak.
As they closed the distance, they yelled in rage and anticipation.
In a dramatic slow-motion moment, Klause unsheathed his katana and slashed through Zhòng Biān's neck.
At the same time, Zhòng Biān swung his Sanjiegun towards Klause's head, attempting to behead him. Klause quickly raised his left arm, blocking the strike with the sheath of his katana.
The immense weight in the tip of the Sanjiegun shattered the katana's sheath, hitting Klause's left arm. The impact broke his arm and sent him flying.
As Klause was about to be sent flying, his katana completed its arc, severing Zhòng Biān's head. Klause crashed into a building, shattering the entrance door glass and bursting through the other side.
Zhòng Biān's head rolled on the floor, blood splattering vigorously, while his headless body collapsed forward. That moment marked the end of the Echowood Retreat Faction.
In a nearby tall building, Hakera watched the battle unfold, helpless. He knew he wasn't in their league and jumping in would make him a liability. He swallowed hard.
For nine seconds, he heard nothing. Then he looked through the window to see what had happened, the two yelled.
He gasped, eyes wide, seeing Zhòng Biān's three-section staff, head, and headless body on the ground, surrounded by blood. He frantically searched for Klause but couldn't find him.
Hakera pulled off his black mask and lowered his hoodie, looking left and right through the window, desperate to find his boss.
He ran to the opposite side of the building and saw Klause lying unconscious on the ground, beaten and worn out, in front of the Great Chiming Clock.
Hakera gritted his teeth. "He flew that far? You've got to be kidding me!"
"Wait, he's not yet unconscious. We haven't lost yet. I can still save him," Hakera said, preparing to jump through the window.
"Just try it, and you'll find yourself looking up at your legs," a voice said from behind, a battle ax placed next to Hakera's neck.
Hakera's eyes widened. "W-Who are you?" he stammered.
"Just move," the voice replied.
It was Hector, his light brown eyes glowing menacingly in the darkness.
Hakera could only watch his unconscious boss on the ground, vulnerable.
Meanwhile, back at Hall Olympus, the battle between the Starfall Reach and Echowood Retreat members reached its climax. Over one hundred members of Shadowmere Groove sprang from the shadows, taking down the remaining members of both factions.
Seeing this, Veda fled out of the building and away from the hostel premises. He had lost all hope. He lost contact with Hakera, Fortis wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, and his boss' location and status were unknown.
Some Starfall Reach members managed to take down a few Shadowmere Groove members before being overwhelmed.
The Shadowmere Groove members stormed the building, looting resources and vandalizing hindrances.
Ten of their members approached the hallway leading to the elevator. In the flickering fluorescent lights, they saw a 6-foot hooded stranger standing calmly in front of the elevator, hands in his hoodie pockets.
They paused, not expecting such calmness during an ambush. After some seconds, they charged at the figure with metallic bats and knuckles as weapons.
The stranger removed his left hand from his pocket and clicked a device in his grasp.
Immediately, the ten approaching members of Shadowmere Groove collapsed, unconscious. Everyone within the hostel, Hall Olympus, started losing consciousness and falling until only the hooded stranger remained standing.
When all the noise had stopped, the stranger lowered his hood.
It was Aeron.
He had used an advanced signal jammer capable of disrupting body impulses and radio signals. Unless someone had a signal reflector or their hearing completely blocked, they'd lose all their senses within its effect radius, becoming unconscious.
"Done here," Aeron said, touching his right ear.
Klause was regaining consciousness. He opened his right eye slowly, the blurry sight of the full moon becoming clearer. Apart from the full moon, he saw the Great Chiming Clock.
The sound of the chime resonated throughout the boarding world as the big and small hands of the clock struck twelve.
Klause struggled to reach into his right pocket, pulling out his regeni phone, sending a broadcast message throughout the boarding world. All the Regeni Billboards and people's Regeni phones lit up.
Immediately after sending the message, "HISS," an Odachi katana descended from above, severing his wrist and embedding itself in the ground near his head.
Blood splattered from his severed wrist as he stared at the large blade beside him in awe. It was the sharpest thing he had ever seen, even sharper than his Iaido katana.
He shifted his gaze to the direction the sword had come from and saw someone standing atop the Great Chiming Clock, silhouetted by the full moon. Lightning flashed through the cloudy sky as a strong breeze blew.
He was too numb to react or even be surprised.
The figure dropped from the clock onto the hilt of the Odachi katana.
All the Regeni Billboards and Regeni phones played Klause's broadcast message repeatedly: "This is Vion Klause, and I've been posing as the boss of Starfall Reach Faction under Lucrious Veda's command."
Hearing this, Klause grinned with his bloody mouth, looking at the figure on the giant blade. "You're too late," he said.
The stranger was face was obscured by the darkness looked into Klause's eyes for some seconds, then got down from the giant blade, holding the long hilt.
"WHOOSH," he swung the katana, severing Klause's neck and cutting into the ground. Blood flowed slowly from his neck since his head remained in place.
The figure lowered his hood.
It was Emrys.
His gray eyes were devoid of light.
He looked into Klause's silver eyes, still somewhat conscious, and said, "I'll be taking back that sword."
After saying this, Emrys unpinned his long Odachi katana from the ground, and wiped the blood off. He also picked up the Iaido katana.
As he prepared to leave, rain began pouring down, the earthy smell filling the air. It was the first rain of the year. Emrys stood still, looking up slowly as the rain ran down his face. He closed his eyes for a while before disappearing into the darkness.
The rain continued to fall as Klause's voice echoed through the Regeni Billboards and media devices throughout the boarding world.