Infinite

John shattered the wall with his magically enhanced brass knuckles. He then walked up to Yaku, the blood and gore surrounding him, the glowing body parts and pieces that were scatted across the hallway.

Yaku stood staring down, confused and curious by a mysterious object.

"What happened here?" (John)

Yaku ignored his question.

"Good job Yaku. You'll be a Third-Class in no time." (Oliver)

"Thanks..." (Yaku)

He responded in a pessimistic serious tone as he kneeled over the puddle of blood and chunky human flesh. He then picked through the ripped fibers of the Black Masked Man's military vest.

He pulled a playing card out from the folds.

"What is it?" (John)

Yaku suddenly felt ill, his hands shaking.

"I feel my... My..." (Yaku)

He felt his magic being pulled from him. The magic absorbed in the chunks of flesh being pulled out.

He stumbled back.

"Yaku?!" (John)

"Oliver give me your jacket now!" (Yaku)

"What?" (John)

Oliver quickly assessed the situation. He immediately understood what happened and what to do.

"I got you!" (Oliver)

He took off his jacket and tossed it across to him.

Yaku with the last of his strength wrapped the jacket up into a bag, tossing the card inside.

"I'm gonna.... Huf huf..." (Yaku)

He fell to his knees, his skin slowly draining, his soul decreasing, he felt like he had only a sliver of magic left in his body.

"I have to..." (Yaku)

He placed his two hands in the makeshift jacket bag.

"Spotless Forever..." (Yaku)

A flash of purple.

The playing card disappeared in an instant as Yaku fell back into a coma.

"Shit!" (Oliver)

John quickly slid over catching Yaku between his arms. He immediately felt his pulse.

"It's weak! We have to get him to a hospital now!" (John)

"Ok! Yes yes! Umm..." (Oliver)

He thought about the mission, the rest of the infiltration... He then came to a conclusion.

"Ok fine! Under my command, I will allow you to abandon the mission." (Oliver)

"Yes sir!" (John)

He rushed down the hall carrying Yaku on his back.

"I guess I'm on my own now... I'll try to meet up with-" (Oliver)

Suddenly the whole Auction House shook like an earthquake.

---

"Gate of Heaven and Hell!" (Marry)

"Gate of Earth, Fire, and Water!" (Marry)

"Gate of Life and Death!" (Marry)

The monster stood trapped in seven layers of Torii gates. One after the other, their beautiful designs and luxurious colors, with writings and literature wrapped around their glowing ancient wood.

Marry stood center stage, with the whole deck off wood crushed and wreaked under her magic gates. She looked up to the ceiling as they touched the marble arches, pressuring the structural integrity of the ancient building to its limits.

Emma and Jack stood on the sidelines, watching as Red cast her magic one after the other, using everything she had up her sleeve so that the X-Class Monster, that just climbed out from the Black Level A Rift, wouldn't escape or attack them.

But this X-Class Monster felt different. It was smaller than usual. With its height being about the same size as a regular human. Plus it was stunning and beautiful, unlike the grotesque monster that came before it, with growing flowers and leaves that sprawled across its humanoid body. It was a living breathing, being, with crawling bugs and butterflies all across its plant-like face.

And to make things weirder, it stood perfectly still, just watching and waiting as Red jumped off that stage and backed down to the seating area with Jack and Emma.

"Will it be able to break free?" (Jack)

"Not until I die, but yeah, it can't escape. But that's not our biggest problem right now. You hear what's happening outside?" (Red)

Emma listened in close. She heard explosions and earthquake-like tremors. It was as if Paris was undergoing every single natural disaster at once.

"By how things are going out there. If more X-Class Monsters like these are popping up, then we'd have to expect this entire city to eventually be wiped off the map. And if that happens, and this building gets crushed, then this monster will probably escape. " (Red)

"So your saying we're going to have to kill it?" (Jack)

"Yes, cause if I want to use my gates to seal other monsters, then I'll need to recall those." (Red)

She pointed at the second Torii gates that stood strong.

Emma stepped up. She smiled in her beautiful flowing dress and shy looks. She pointed at the X-Class Monster. It's flowing grassy humanoid body, it's wiggling worms that dug into its dirt skin.

"I... I'll kill it. But you two will have to leave... You can't be near me when I activate my magic." (Emma)

Jack stared at Emma's face. She was determined, ready to fight with all her strength.

"Ok but don't overdo it. I... I dont want you to die on me Emma." (Jack)

She turned back with a smile.

"I won't. But after this... Want to take me out on that work talk, like we promised?" (Emma)

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah! The work talk." (Jack)

---

Red and Jack left the unstable Auction Hall.

"What did she say? Work talk? What's that?" (Red)

"Just an inside joke." (Jack)

---

The X-Class Monster looked up at Emma. Her cute, awkward face, her beautiful dress.

She slowly inched forward, climbing onto the stage and wondering where to start.

"Are you human?" (Phanes)

She stepped back stunned by the quiet child-like voice that emanated from this monster.

"Ummm... Yes!" (Emma)

"Human...? Human... Human... You are human, yes!" (Phanes)

She looked down sad. She looked at the monster. She looked at the Torii gates.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually like killing bugs and insects but... And I especially don't like killing things that don't fight back but... This time it's an exception... I'm going to have to kill you." (Emma)

"Are you a threat?" (Phanes)

"Threat? Me? Umm... To you I guess... But there's nothing you can really do about it. Your stuck in Red's gates." (Emma)

"Gates?" (Phanes)

It walked up confused, bewildered by this world, by the building around it, by the Torii gates that stood ten feet tall, wide and long, with colorful designs written in an unknown language.

"These gates..." (Phanes)

Emma looked up at the ceiling. She saw the marble and wooden beams collapsing, the pressure from these gigantic colossal gates making the building unstable.

"Sorry I can't waste any time." (Emma)

She held out her hand.

"I'm sorry but please... Don't cry!" (Emma)

She closed her eyes. Focusing her magic into her palm. Trying to not let it explode out.

But the explosion always happened, no matter how hard she tried, her magic was too strong, too strange, too wild.

The power of the infinite.

"Infinite Age!" (Emma)

It was invisible.

A magic invisible to the eye, but physical to the touch.

It passed through the Torii gates. Spreading across the open air like a deadly virus. it eventually reached the X-Class Monster. touching its grassy, dirt-covered, bug-covered, flower-covered skin.

"Magic? Is this magic..." (Phanes)

"Umm... Yes..." (Emma)

At first, the monster was like a child, not knowing the world around it. The magic in front of it. The magic around it. The magic in the air. At first, it was a being of simplicity.

But as soon as Emma's magic took its effect on it, the world around it began to change, to form, it all began to make sense. The reason it was born. The world it was in. Why it was there. This thought process repeated, over and over again, forming from the life and death around it, from the magic Emma created, killing it over and over again.

"My magic ages people. It's infinity... Infinite time, throwing the body into the future, millions of years, thousands of years, hundreds, until they turn to dust. It's really strong. The Grand Sorcerer at one point wanted me on his personal Squad but... I have one downside to my magic. It spreads across forever, for infinite, until the entire space is filled, until this entire room becomes inhabitable. So whenever I use it I can't have anyone else around. Or else they'll die and turn to... Dust..." (Emma)

Phanes started to wilt, its bugs and flower, its human-shaped body folding in on itself, crumbling over itself, in and out, dead and alive. But its magic kept it alive, over and over again it grew, regrowing, using its magic to live forever, to outpace the death... But the death also outpaced the life. It would grow into a field of flowers, insects, vines, leaves, and centipedes, but as soon as it would become beautiful it would wilt anew. Again and again and again, forever and ever until its soul ran out of magic and energy. Until Red's gates restricted its growth, pushing it into a cube of death, over and over again, dying forever, infinitely. forever and ever.

"Wha... What did you.... Human... Do to me?!" (Phanes)

Emma turned away. She couldn't bear to watch any longer. It pained her to see it. To see the death. She hated death.

"I'm sorry... It pains to watch. But... It's my power... I'm sorry... Again I'm sorry!" (Emma)

I screamed louder and louder. Crying out in that child-like voice.

"I said I'm sorry!" (Emma)

---

Meanwhile, outside the Auction House, Jack and Red reached a glassy field of death and destruction. They saw humans turned to glass, their lives encapsulated in clear see-through statues.

They looked up into the distance to see buildings and cityscapes in flames. The sky a dark purple, with a rift larger than anything seen before.

They saw flying monsters crossing the skies, as gigantic behemoth-like creatures stomped over buildings and tanks. They looked on every corner, every street sign, but as they kept walking, it suddenly became apparent. The city was glass. Everything in the surrounding area had been turned to glass.

"What happened here? It's all glass?" (Jack)

"Jack... It's what the Rogue Sorcerer said... The end of the magic force." (Emma)