Rumble in Pactolus

Screams and pleads echoed from the Heart of Pactolus where an unnatural rumble of feet fleeing had begun. Six unrecognizable individuals dressed in white body suits from head to toe, with tinted helmets that covered their faces, speedily ran across streets, smashing into buildings and shops uncontrollably.

"Help!!!"

"Who are these people!?? Why are they doing this!?"

"Are these the Seven Sins!?"

Chaos brought forth fear, and fear brought forth the impenetrable state of mind one would call 'Fight or Flight.' Most chose 'flight', and fled the area. But four certain individuals chose 'fight' and stepped forward.

"Is that—!?"

"Everyone, calm down and follow me! I'll lead you all to the evacuation site at the south side of this district!"

The crowded mass of people turned their heads towards the voice.

"Don't worry! I'll protect you all against any possible dangers along the way!" The one who yelled began running.

"Wait… Isn't that Suto Meeres from Squad Zero?"

"Suto Meeres!?"

"Squad Zero's here!!"

Everyone began bolting after him.

"Keep them safe Suto!" Jasper walked out into the open. Accompanying him was Wardell and Axel.

"Will do sir! I'll get them all to safety as soon as possible, and then I'll be right back to support you guys!" He glanced at the bundle of white-bodies that ran around with intent to terrorize. "Just who are they?"

"We'll find out. They could very well be some of the Seven Sins. But we don't know for sure yet, they seem to be wearing masks to conceal their identities. Come back soon Suto."

Suto nodded. "Zika'll keep you guys covered in the meantime. She's on the 47th floor at six o'clock," Suto pointed at a skyscraper miles away.

"Understood."

"Good luck!" Suto then continued to lead the crowd out of danger's way.

Jasper now turned back towards the oncoming danger. "That gets the civilians out of the way. Now we can focus on taking these foes down. Remember what we all discussed about the Seven Sins just moments ago?"

Wardell and Axel nodded. They blinked to settle the contact lenses within their eyes. They would not have to worry about making eye contact with the Sin of Lust or Envy.

"Testing, testing. Can you all hear me?" It was Hugo speaking through the ear-piece each of them had equipped.

"Copy."

"Mhm."

"Yeah."

All three tuned into the frequency. "Okay great. You all need to update me of what's happening, and I'll spontaneously strategize in unison with Jasper for you all. Every so often, I'll repeat these instructions in the case that Gluttony is present and it wipes any of your memories, got it?"

"Understood."

"Yeah."

"Got it."

The three front-liners readied themselves for combat.

"Brace yourselves!" They saw the smaller three of the six, bolting towards them. They wore plain white suits compared to the other three.

"Remember, we're to subdue them, not kill! We need at least three to take into custody."

The other two heard Jasper's words, and nodded. Distracted in the moment, Axel failed to notice the enemy that'd appeared right before him.

"Wha—?!"

The white-body heaved his arm towards the boy. Suddenly, it was struck heavily by something in the stomach, sending it flying backwards into an evacuated car. It beeped excessively into the district.

"Huh!?" Axel traced his eyes on the object that'd saved his life. It spun in succession, rounding back towards Wardell who stood a distance away. He caught the weapon back in his hand, "The Axe of Trajectory… Not bad."

"Great move Wardell!" Jasper rushed over to Axel. "Pay attention, okay? You can't get caught off guard like that again."

He nodded to his brother. "Yes sir!"

The two got up quickly, noticing the remaining two who ran towards them. Jasper whipped out his beam, pulling it apart into two separate swords. "Primary form: Akimbo," Jasper dashed forwards. In a flashing second, he flurried a series of slices. Passing the white-body in a step, the result came in a dramatic delay; the white-body's legs fell before it, completely disconnecting from its body. The legless body then fell forwards, face-first into the bloody pool below it.

"Give it a few seconds." Jasper waited quickly. The body laid still.

"No regeneration. That's not the Sin of Wrath. That means that one's completely subdued; no legs, no movement." Jasper was suddenly alarmed, "Axel, to your right!"

Axel ducked immediately upon hearing this. A body hurdled over his. "Nice call!" He turned towards the white-body who was now in the other direction. Axel thought to himself; now it was his turn. He unsheathed his knife from his left, and flipped out his hatchet from the right.

"Take this!" He leapt onto the white-body. To his surprise, the white-body dodged, leaving Axel completely open. It threw a kick forwards, aimed directly at Axel's stomach.

"You thought!" His arm flew up from right under, directing his knife right through the white body's calves before the leg could connect with his body. Axel felt his enemy stiffen in its tracks, but surprisingly no grunt of pain was heard. "That's not the end of it!" His other arm came right over, bringing his hatchet's blade downward. The sharp end sliced right through the white-body's leg, staining its suit red. The white-body stumbled, unsteady on its hind leg, finally falling limp onto the ground.

"That makes at least two subdued." Axel looked over his shoulder. In the near distance he could see Jasper and Wardell fending off the remaining three. These three were bigger and bulkier. One of the three looked superior, dawning a stronger-looking suit with golden accents. He struck Wardell in the chest, which flipped him onto the ground.

"—Guh!" He coughed up a mist of blood.

On the other end, Jasper tried fending off two bulky white-bodies at once. His ambiguity kept him focus on both simultaneously.

"Continue fighting those two Jasper! Axel, go aid Wardell with his fight. Everyone continue to stay concentrated on your foes! Zika, remain on standby. Your colleagues are too close to the targets. It's not worth the risk to fire any shots right now. Plus, we haven't confirmed whether they're Sins or not yet." Hugo continuously called out the action that unfolded.

"All to counter the Sin of Gluttony…" Axel muttered to himself. He rushed to Wardell's aid. Seeing the muscular white-body that began to hold Wardell down, Axel threw himself into its side with attempt to knock it over. But before he could, the enemy reacted in response to the attack; in a swift movement, it avoided Axel completely.

Following up on this, the golden white-body now focused on Axel. It jumped forwards, aiming to strike downwards onto him. Axel rolled out of the way, just swerving the crater it'd formed upon attacking. "Jesus!"

The golden white-body sighed.

Hearing this as the only thing that'd come out of any of their mouths, Wardell was suddenly infuriated. "You—!" He whipped his axe in its direction. The white-body leaned, dodging the axe without effort.

"Now Axel!" Hugo yelled in the ear-piece.

From behind, Axel jumped to the tall height of the golden white-body, slashing both his knife and hatchet downwards onto its shoulders. He felt his Clad and Crux slice right through its tendons. "I got it—!" But he was abruptly smashed in the face, sending him tumbling onto the ground. Surprisingly, its arms still moved professionally, resulting in the strike at Axel.

"Axel!!!" Jasper screamed. He disengaged his opponents and began sprinting towards the golden white-body.

"Wait!" Wardell called out. "Get out of the way!"

"Why!? You're all struggling—!"

"Just trust me!"

Jasper froze in his tracks. He looked at Wardell, who began to smile.

To his left, Jasper suddenly heard a grimey sound of metal slashing flesh. He looked; it was Wardell's Axe of Trajectory, completely serrating through the golden white-body, leaving it halved.

"Thanks Jarett," Wardell caught the bloodied handle of his axe. He'd thrown it along a trajectory that would slice right through the enemy. "That's another one subdued. We've gotten the titan out of the way."

"All that's left are those two!" Axel ran past him. Wardell was surprised, since just moments ago he'd seen the boy get pummeled. He joined his brother and took one of the two into combat for his own. But what he hadn't realized was how badly the previous attack had injured him. "I see… four...?" Axel felt himself sway.

"Wardell, get Axel out of harm's way now!"

"Got it Hugo," he rushed forwards, parrying an attack from the white-body just in time. "Get back," he told Axel.

"But I need to—"

"I said get back NOW!" He shoved Axel backwards. He fell onto the floor, still feeling himself sway.

"You—!"

"Don't Axel," Jasper spoke up. "Remember not to let your emotions waver. Take Wardell's actions as tough love. We can't have you injuring yourself more than you already may be."

As he spoke, Jasper continued his combat with the white-body. This one was more self-controlled than the other ones he'd fought. It knew how to fall back on defense, and how to convert his movements into offensive attacks. Jasper was only able to skim some cuts on the surface of its muscles, but had not yet gotten a full-on slice into its flesh.

Meters away, Wardell swung his axe against the white body he faced, who dodged its heavy blows. He was at a massive speed disadvantage. Although the white-body was big and bulky, it moved with great velocity, as if the wind carried it in varying directions. "This one is allowed to die right Hugo!?"

Hugo replied. "You've already subdued at least three right?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, then I leave it to Jasper to give the go."

"Go for it!" He called out.

Now inspired, Wardell mustered all his strength into one wide swing of the axe, twirling around in a circular motion. The force brought about his swing moved him in the direction of the white-body, finally coming into contact with its body. Its stomach was shredded by the continuous slashes done upon by Wardell's axe spin, digging through until it reached the other side. The white-body was now left half a torso. It plumped onto the ground, joining the messy gravel.

"One left to go!"

Jasper continued his combat, confidently gaining momentum on each slash as they got closer and closer to the white-body's skin. But his mind finally peaked in burden. He hadn't given his brain enough time to settle with its new capabilities.

"—Urgh!" Jasper clutched his head. It suddenly spiked in immense pain, and his movements quickly staggered. "I think I've overused... my ambiguity! It hurts!"

"Jasper!" Hugo spoke on the frequency. "Are you okay?"

"No!"

"Then withdraw yourself right now!"

Jasper retreated the combat, but the white-body pushed forwards. "I can't… focus anymore. My brain's processing too many things!!"

"Wardell, defend our leader!" Hugo yelled.

As if on queue, he jumped between Jasper and the white-body, beginning to fend off the threat. Wardell pushed his axe towards the white-body, who pushed back. It was a war of pushing; the weaker would budge. "Hurgh!!!" Wardell felt his feet losing grip. The white-body before him suddenly grew in strength, pushing forward more and more until Wardell was now completely sliding backwards.

"I can't!!!"

The three on the frontline realized they'd been caught in a struggle with the final enemy remaining.

"Are you the Sin of Wrath!?" Wardell asked his enemy. The white-body didn't reply. Instead, it kept pushing. "He's too strong! I hate to admit it but he's actually overpowering me!!!"

"Suto! Where are you? They need your help!" Hugo called out on the ear-piece.

"I've only just finished evacuating the citizens! I'm making my way back now!"

"That's not soon enough! Jasper, Axel, and Wardell need help now! Tsk!" Hugo switched his mindset. "Zika, do you have a eyes on the target?"

"Roger."

"Is it a clear shot?"

"Negative."

"Wardell! I need you to withdraw to guarantee Zika a risk-free shot!"

"Tsk! Fine!" Wardell leapt back.

"Zika! Shot progress!?"

"Clear."

"Give her the go leader!"

Jasper gathered his staggered thoughts for a quick, single moment.

"Shoot."

Zika pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The heavy shot echoed from within the Heart of Pactolus.