8 - Revelations 6:9

Kaito descended once more. He spent the next few hours flying over Europe, from Glasgow to a desolate spot in North Africa. He used his fiery and pure wings to traverse the continent. It was night already, so whoever saw him from below thought it was a strangely pure bird soaring in the embrace of freedom.

The sands beneath him welcomed him and his flaming wings, he knew where to go. There was a small town in the distance, but it shouldn’t have been a problem. He descended and saw his adversary in front of him. Four done, two more to go, and he didn’t know much about the seventh one. The only issue was that he looked like a corpse.

His skin was so gray it almost looked like he was genuinely dead. His nose was bleeding, his limbs felt weak, and his cough was getting worse and worse to the point where he was coughing up blood. He felt dizzy and awfully under the weather.

“And there you are.” Kaito said, noticing Mansa standing in the distance. “You almost got yourself a new ally.”

“Do you believe it is appropriate to taunt me?” Mansa asked. He, noticing Kaito’s grave condition, was pleasantly surprised. He even felt a bit of hope.

“This is...” Kaito said before coughing up more blood. His head spun badly enough to cause him to almost lose balance. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Are you sick?” Mansa asked, taking a stance. Kaito didn’t respond, but instead, held onto his guts. A second later, he threw up.

“Maybe that villager was right. The gods are punishing us for our sins.” Mansa said, aiming his palms at the weakened Kaito. “The gods are punishing our species because a monster like you exists!”

“I call upon thee...”

“Falcon!”

Immediately, a giant black and white falcon emerged from the ground, scattering bits of sand everywhere. Without an ounce of hesitation, it charged at Kaito, who could only smile with blood dripping down his mouth.

The falcon attacked Kaito with its claws, but Kaito resisted it, punching it away with whatever might he could muster. The bird shrieked in pain, parts of it already set ablaze by the pure flames. It swung its birds frantically and landed on the ground, trying to peck and bite Kaito, but failing to do so. Kaito consistently dodged, eventually getting enough distance and time to manifest a large amount of flames.

He reshaped the flames into a giant flaming white spear and threw it at the bird. If the attacks and flames before that were enough to deal significant damage to it, the spear pierced right through its head, killing it in one blow and devouring the rest of the corpse in violent yet beautiful fire. Kaito turned his attention to Mansa who was busy opening the distance.

He fired an array of loaded flaming arrows in his direction, each of them creating massive craters upon impact. Kaito, stumbling on his way to Mansa, felt a sharp pain in his right eye. The headache had gotten so bad it felt like someone was actively gouging his eye out of his eye socket. He held onto it, and a trail of blood escaped from under his palm. Mansa took the opportunity and went on the offensive.

“I call upon thee, Lion!”

The mighty lion followed Mansa into battle. Mansa summoned his weapon - a sharp sable. He swung at Kaito with all of his might, and Kaito managed to step to the side. The lion came in and swiped at Kaito, wounding him and sending him back. Mansa followed it up with a heavy punch to the stomach that made Kaito throw up blood and knocked him further away.

“This is...impossible.”

“He’s...weakened because of what?!”

Kaito stood back up. Mansa charged at him again, but this time, Kaito was ready with a counter. He swiftly stepped to the side and slammed a powerful uppercut right into Mansa’s stomach. Thankfully, Mansa blocked it. Otherwise he’d have a gaping hole in his body. The lion tried to protect its master but Kaito quickly destroyed it with a pair of flaming punches.

“I call upon thee, Queen Bee!”

A small and pretty insect appeared in Mansa’s fist. Following the command of his fist was a large cloud of bees which were sent to sting Kaito to death with their venom. Kaito released a pair of flaming slashes in Mansa’s direction and eradicated all of the insects at once.

“Damn it...” Mansa thought. “Despite being deathly sick, he is still Kaito Kamiki...”

“He’s only using Diego Solano’s flames. Is it because he can’t use the others, or are the flames simply so strong that using other soul expressions isn’t worth it?!”

Kaito couldn’t walk properly, his nausea was really bad. His cough became so painful it felt like his throat was being stabbed. And yet he retained his confident smile.

“I call upon thee, Elephant!”

The all-powerful beast emerged from the ground and instantly charged at Kaito. Kaito aimed a flaming arrow at it and hurt it badly. But instead of focusing on finishing the beast off, he went straight for Mansa.

He released an array of flaming slashing in Mansa’s way, who had only one option.

“I call upon thee, Armadillo!”

The creature was summoned just in time to block most of the incoming hellfire. But by that point, Kaito was already there. He struck Mansa with a jab and a straight, before stepping to the side to avoid his sable and kicking him in the stomach, the impact strong enough to knock him quite the distance.

While airborne, Kaito attempted to dismantle him mid-air. He summoned his sword and ejected a flurry of flying slashes aimed at him. But Mansa wasn’t out of options.

“I call upon thee, Bat!”

The giant bat, the feet of which Mansa was holding onto, carried him higher up into the air, saving him from the deadly blender. Once the beast was unsummoned, he made the landing, and glanced at Kaito’s weakened stature.

“He’s dying. I just need to outlast him.”

“The best way is to run, but he has enough firepower to render that option effectively useless.”

“If I can just keep fighting at this exact same pace, I’ll outlast him easily.”

Kaito faced him. He charged up an arrow, and judging by the soul presence, this one was stronger than all the previous ones. He aimed it at Mansa with blood leaking out of his reddened eyes. His fever was cooking him alive.

“I need to make a sacrifice here.”

“I call upon thee, supreme deity that eclipses all strength... Mammoth!”

A beast of indescribable size emerged in the desert. Kaito took the shot.

The furious beast rushed at Kaito at unexpected speeds, but the flaming arrow struck him head first. It completely destroyed half of its body, and the shockwave was strong enough to form a crater and launch Mansa way further into the distance on the outskirts of the desert town. Once Mansa got up, he felt another arrow form in the distance.

“No, the buildings!”

Mansa was unfortunately powerless in that situation. All he could do is dodge as a chunk of the town was instantly evaporated.

Confused townsfolk leaned out of their windows and ran outside to see what disaster had struck them this time. The peaceful settlement would bear witness to a destructive battle, with no guarantee of avoiding the fate of becoming collateral damage.

“Everyone, leave immediately!” Mansa yelled at the forming crowds. “This is a soulful danger! Leave the area immediately, spread the word!”

Most of the people didn’t act, but some instantly began running away as soon as their brains processed Mansa’s words.

“What are you waiting for? Get outta here! You’ll die if you stay here!” Mansa kept yelling, finally getting the message across to the slower townsfolk. And yet, once he turned around, he saw Kaito. He was at a manageable distance, he looked like he was on his deathbed. He stood on the sand with blood by his feet and bloody hands.

“I don’t sense a single soul presence in this town.” Kaito said, coughing up more blood. “My condition...somehow, it’s worsening by the second.”

“That means all I must do is survive.” Mansa said. “You will die due to a curse only you know about.”

“What a shame it would be if I did.” Kaito said. “You are the last one standing, are you not? I can’t track the last one down just yet. Had you kept fighting me at a closer distance, my own symptoms would have given you an opening to cut my head off.”

“I know about the flames. I know about your close range strength.” Mansa said. “I know all about your capabilities.”

“I need to get him to keep talking.” Mansa thought, trying to control his breathing.

“Is that so?” Kaito asked. His bloodied face was home to a confident smirk.

“...”

“I am dying on my feet, and yet I’m confident in my victory.” Kaito said. “Does that not surprise you?”

“What type of ability is it this time?” Mansa asked. “Better yet, why even use it?”

“To honor the stronghold system. It was good while it lasted, it did its job during the war.” Kaito said. “And it’s serving its purpose now.”

“Now then...”

“Do you wish to know what true soulful power is?”

“...”

Kaito closed his eyes, focusing. He was very close to fainting, but his next combat decision saved him from that trouble. His soul presence jumped to a whole different level. Instead of simply being strong, it now felt...divine.

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“ ✦ Limited Manifestation. ✦ ”

His body sparked with a bright light, the same shade as his flames. A blinding flashbang of pure soul prowess signified the activation of an ability that was truly on a different level. Its presence was special enough to be felt across many other territories. Sakuto felt it and felt surprised and even a little curious. Mukawa felt it and felt anger, realizing that this most likely signified the death of his comrade.

Kaito’s body was covered with a pure white layer. His hands had sharp white claws on them, and he was glowing like a lonesome star in a pitch black sky. His face was covered with a mask-like plate of similar white, but his abyssal eyes were visible. Parts of his uniform remained, intertwining with the white and giving off the appearance of a truly divine creature.

And most terrifyingly for Mansa, it seemed to slow the sickness down.

“So this is his secret weapon? A transformation?” Mansa asked himself, carefully looking at Kaito and trying to analyze everything he could see.

“Judging by his presence, and the fact that there’s something on his hands, this is likely a form best designed for close-quarters combat. But there’s a good chance it has long-range capabilities too.”

“How does this affect his utilization of the flames, though? Are they limited or do they still work at their highest potential? Do they work even better?”

“He uttered the word ‘limited’, is this the limited version of a form? Is there an even more enhanced version? Wouldn’t be too far off from someone like Kaito Kamiki to have a phase even beyond this...actually, what if this is a divine acclamation?”

“No, it can’t be there’s no dimming.”

“And I can’t see him cough. The blood was wiped out.”

“Now what do I do against this monstrosity? Where’s its weakness? What’s its strong point?”

“What weapons does it have? How strong is it? How fast is it? How efficiently can it kill me-”

Mansa didn’t even notice Kaito blitzing him, grabbing him by his face, and throwing him right into the town...

Mansa was thrown into one of the building’s walls with such tremendous power that he almost got knocked out from the impact alone. He didn’t even acknowledge the situation, but Kaito was already right next to him. Kaito grabbed the poor soulful by his clothes and slammed him into the ground before kicking him away. Mansa’s body tore through a pair of smaller buildings and laid flat on the ground.

When reality finally caught up to him, alongside the intense pain, he quickly stood up. Through the many craters in the buildings’ walls, he looked at Kaito. He seemed to have been having a moment of his own, and at that moment he was in intense pain.

“What the...”

He knew that if he wanted to survive and kill Kaito, now would be the best and probably only chance he had. He quickly stepped forward, but a second later, another feeling overtook his mind - fear. Fear against a force that he knew he couldn't take head on. So he just watched.

He watched, until Kaito dashed forward through the gaps, still looking to be in pain, and just stood there in front of Mansa. Despite Mansa’s many warnings, a crowd was forming around them, a crowd that would soon start coughing. Kaito smirked.

“Did you believe my condition would be my downfall?” Kaito asked, slowly approaching him. “Was that your lifeline?”

Mansa looked around him. People started screaming from fear, not fear of Kaito, no, to them Kaito was just the unknown. They screamed because they saw the people next to them cough up and vomit blood, their skins were infected by a nasty rash that would break it apart, causing them to bleed from almost every pore in their body. Their eyes became jaundiced, their feet became itchy, and they slowly began to collapse.

“What the hell is this? Are you doing this on purpose?!” Mansa asked, furious at the sight of the innocent townsfolk dying in excruciating pain.

“Not on purpose.” Kaito said. “See, when I’m in this form, not only are my physical capabilities enhanced, but also my soul regeneration. So I decided to take a countermeasure against this...sickness, or curse, whatever it is.”

“...?”

“I destroyed the damaged chunks of my organs and quickly regenerated them.” Kaito said, taking another step forward, unintentionally cracking the ground beneath him. “I managed to slow the sickness down to the point where I won’t end up like...them.” He said, pointing at the dying masses. The sickness didn’t just stop with those it selected as its targets, it spread around, infecting more and more and subjecting them to that torture.

“This is bad...” Mansa thought. “Running away from him does not seem like a feasible option anymore.”

“But I’ve noticed one thing.” Kaito said, pointing at Mansa. “You are not infected. You are perfectly healthy.”

“Maybe our gods really are punishing us.” Mansa said. “Maybe they’re laying a curse on you.”

“How come?”

“Are you really going to be oblivious?” Mansa lashed out. “Because you are a deranged, psychopathic maniac who wants to bury humanity because of your own pathetic whims!”

“Pathetic...?”

Kaito’s brain was still being ravaged by the sickness, and where there’s a brain, there can be a headache. It got bad enough to the point where Kaito, had it not been for the battle, would hold into his eyes, lay in bed, and hope to fall asleep. He’d be chugging painkillers like mint candy by now.

But that statement got him back into the fight. In fact, it made him get serious about it as well. He riased his finger. A moment later, small sparks of soul prowess appeared, and acted as the sources of powerful flying slashes, each of them carrying enough destructive force to shred whatever building was left standing close to him. Mansa braced for impact.

He blitzed in again, but Mansa was ready to counter. He tried to throw some punches, but Kaito dodged them with ease. He threw a kick, and Kaito caught it, and snapped Mansa’s leg in half.

“I call upon thee, Cheetah!”

The beast rose from the sand, grabbed onto Mansa and attempted to carry it away, but Kaito caught onto the two. Mansa was still in great pain. Kaito launched a flying slash at the two, it was powerful enough to carve a scar in the sand, completely decapitate Mansa’s other leg, and cleave the animal in half. Mansa was effectively left defenseless.

“I call upon thee...”

Kaito didn’t let Mansa finish the sentence. He grabbed him by his face and crushed his jaw with just his hand’s grip strength. He tossed Mansa away, deeper into the town, and walked towards him with pure hatred in his eyes.

“How dare you call her...pathetic?”

Around Kaito, people got sick. They also got killed. Kaito’s footsteps carried enough force to crack the ground and send small shockwaves, and his hands sent out flying slashes that cut all the soulless watchers in half. The disease was spreading so fast that almost the entire population of the town had been infected already - it felt as if Kaito wasn’t a sick man, but an entire cloud of toxicity and death, descending upon a town that had done no harm to him. The waters in the fountain in the town square where Mansa was turned into disgusting black slush, likely riddled with the infection.

Mansa attempted to reach for that fountain, but Kaito remotely cut his arm off. Now left with just one limb, Mansa used it to hold his soul-bound weapon. He aimed at himself.

“You won’t get to kill me.” Mansa said, preparing to stab himself with it. “I won’t give you the pleasure you desired so much-”

His other arm was chopped off. He was better off just doing the stabbing instead of announcing it to an insanely fast opponent, to be fair.

Mansa crawled back.

“I call upon thee...divine creature of almighty power...Tiger!”

The beast emerged behind him, its eyes bloodshot and its fangs sharper than most blades. It jumped at Kaito, despite it being twice his size and a dozen times its weight, it couldn’t push him even a little. Kaito placed his hands on the tiger’s jaws and ripped them open. He kept walking forwards, ripping the entire beast open. Once the killing was done, he stared at the defenseless Mansa, laying in front of him.

“S-so...what now...?” Mansa asked. “Are you going to kill me? T-torture me?! You disgusting coward...”

“I’m going to use you to forge a soulful world.” Kaito said. Mansa was about to voice his loud concerns, but his mouth couldn’t move. Kaito shoved his hand into his chest and crushed his heart. A few seconds later, the essence that he devoured from four other soulfuls appeared once again.

At the same time, Kaito’s headache crossed the point of being tolerable and became cripplingly dangerous, to the point where he’d faint due to shock from the sheer pain. His legs weakened and he fell on his knees next to the corpse. And he devoured the essence.

All of his sickness left his body.

His eyes recovered, his skin regained its color, his cough and bleeding stopped. And he heard a voice. He slowly stood up, and the voices had gotten more and more intense. They began echoing in his ears, overwhelming him, screaming at him to try and get their message across. So he chose to listen to them.

“...”

“They killed me...for what?! Just because I’m a soulful?!”

“I...I couldn’t handle it anymore. I didn’t see a point. It’s because of them, it’s all their fault. They pushed me to do it...”

“I just wanted to go to the store across the road and get something to eat for my big brother, he was so tired protecting me...I hope he’s okay now...”

“Why? Just why?! What did she do to deserve getting shot? All because she was a soulful? Because she was on the wrong side of conflict?”

“They all hated me, I gave them the hatred back...ended up getting shot for it, but, if I had another chance, I wouldn’t have brought a knife. I would’ve brought a bomb and killed everyone.”

“What did I do to deserve this?!”

“They all hate me...”

“They killed me! In broad daylight, they killed me! Do you know how it feels? Dying?!”

“They killed me because I could do something they didn’t. They killed me because according to them, their gods didn’t accept me. They decided I wasn’t allowed to live. They killed me because of it.”

“I died because my attending doctor didn’t treat me. Because I was different. They let me die and they wrote it up as an unexpected sudden death. All because I was a soulful."

“I was alone.”

Kaito stood up right and gazed at the moon. A small tear streamed down his face.

“Nobody wanted to be my friend.”

“Nobody liked me. I was a soulful.”

“They told me I was weird, they told me so much. I wanted to become normal, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to live in a world that rejected me.”

“I felt like I would never find anyone that loves me, honestly. I felt like the only person alive in this world.”

“I miss living.”

“I was hated by the world.”

“Kaito, do you hear me?”

Kaito’s eyes lit up.

“You’re as adorable as ever. You’re doing great. I’m so proud of you.”

“I didn’t want to die! I...I had things going on in my life! I didn’t want to die, and yet I did, because how the hell am I supposed to defend myself from an entire army?”

“I fought back. I fought back and I tried to protect them, but...there was nothing I could do.”

“The world decided I didn’t deserve to live.”

“Kaito, I’m sorry that the world hated me.”

“I didn’t even have a say. I just...died. I didn’t have any supernatural powers like others, so I just died. I died in a bombing.”

“How...how dare they? They just come in and start killing us! Why?! Just...why?! How does that even work?!”

“It was probably my fault.”

“They just...kill us and we can’t do anything about it!”

“How good would it be if someone else did this to them?! They should get a taste of their own medicine! They should all just fucking die!”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t handle it any longer.”

“No...”

Kaito took a deep breath, his eyes sparking with a dark determination.

“I promise to you. I promise to all of you.”

“I will create a soulful world.”

Without shifting his gaze from the moon, he got his phone out and made a call.

“This is me. Make the official statement and notify the Heisei. The GSC, representing the Naja stronghold, is declaring war on the Eura stronghold. Issue an evacuation order for all soulfuls in Prague.” He calmly said. “At the same time, declare a manhunt on Ex-Captain Kostas Zervos and ex-member of the GSC Intelligence Agency, Mukawa.”

“I know he’s my next goal, I know he’s out there somewhere. But I can’t pinpoint where exactly he is. His soul prowess that has a disruptive property likely plays a role in that.”

He clenched his fists a little.

"Soon enough..."

"The soulful world shall come."