Hold The line

It had been three weeks.

Gunfire rattled through the city like an unrelenting storm. Explosions shook the very earth beneath them. Smoke choked the sky, darkening the horizon with the scars of war.

The evacuation was still ongoing.

"MOVE! GET TO THE BASE!" a soldier shouted, his voice raw from endless commands.

Civilians stumbled through the streets, clutching their children, their few belongings—whatever they could carry in their rush to escape. The military base stood as the last line of defense, a towering fortress now housing the remnants of Mars' people.

But outside, the war raged.

The Angel Squad held the front.

Demi-humans, mutants, elite soldiers—everyone was fighting to hold Lionel back. The city had become a battlefield of steel and blood, torn apart by the relentless push of the enemy.

The machines advanced in massive waves, their metallic bodies glinting in the firelight, their unfeeling red eyes scanning for targets. Demon users cut through squads with unnatural speed, their magic warping reality itself as they tore through defenses.

It was pure hell.

And they had to hold the line.

Arnik ran through the battlefield, dodging debris and incoming fire as he grabbed another injured soldier. His arms ached, his uniform was stained with blood—some his, some not—but he kept moving.

"Aika! Got more!" he called out, dragging the soldier toward her.

Aika didn't look up, her hands glowing as she sealed wounds faster than her magic reserves should've allowed. "Drop him and keep going!"

He barely slowed, placing the wounded man beside her before sprinting back toward the front.

Fighter jets streaked across the sky, missiles cutting through the smog-filled air. Each explosion sent shockwaves through the broken streets, shaking Arnik's footing as he pushed forward.

He wasn't here to win a fight. He was here to stop soldiers from dying.

Markus? He didn't see it that way.

Not far ahead, Markus fought without pause. His trident-sword tore through machine and demon alike, his movements calculated, efficient. Soldiers fought alongside him, but he wasn't watching their backs. If they kept up, they kept up. If they fell, that was the risk of war.

Arnik pulled another injured soldier back. Markus cut down another enemy.

Two ways of fighting.

One trying to save lives.

The other making sure they didn't waste time saving the weak.

The soldier lay on the ground, clutching his gut as blood seeped between his fingers. His breaths were ragged, his voice weak. "Markus… please… help me…"

Markus glanced down, his expression unreadable. The battlefield raged around him—explosions, gunfire, the clash of blades and metal—but for a brief moment, there was only the two of them.

His grip on his weapon didn't loosen.

"You're here to make sure I push back these demon machines." His tone was flat, matter-of-fact. "I don't have time to worry about you. Nor is it my job."

The soldier's face twisted in despair.

Markus didn't linger. He turned away, stepping over the dying man and throwing himself back into the fight.

Arnik gritted his teeth, dragging another wounded soldier behind cover before jumping back into the fight. He barely had time to breathe before another wave of machines surged forward. His fists burned with energy, every strike sending shockwaves through enemy lines.

Markus, just a few feet away, fought with brutal efficiency. His blade tore through steel and flesh alike, his movements sharp and relentless. Unlike Arnik, he didn't stop to pull soldiers to safety. He only pushed forward, cutting a path through the chaos.

Arnik could feel the bodies piling up behind them.

Markus didn't care.

They moved together, back-to-back, cutting through the horde. Arnik was holding the line, Markus was breaking it.

The difference between them had never felt so clear.

As they fought, Arnik spoke between heavy breaths, his body covered in dirt, blood, and sweat.

"Markus, this is getting out of hand… We're losing too many."

Markus didn't even glance at him, his blade carving through a machine soldier with a brutal strike. "And yet, we're still standing."

"We're all in this together… We've got each other's backs," Arnik muttered between heavy breaths, his body covered in dirt, blood, and sweat.

Markus didn't hesitate, cutting through another wave of machines. "Arnik, this is war. People must be sacrificed for the greater good."

Arnik clenched his fists. "That's not how I see it."

"You think we can win this without losing people?" Markus scoffed, blocking a strike before countering with a brutal slash. "I don't see them as less human. Every soldier here matters—but sacrifices must be made."

Arnik gritted his teeth. "I don't want to win a war if it means throwing our own people away."

Markus turned, eyes sharp. "We don't get to choose, Arnik. We either fight smart, or we all die."

"You call this smart? Letting them bleed out while you push forward?"

Markus didn't waver. "I call it necessary."

Arnik's glare hardened, frustration clawing at his chest. "And if we win like that, what's left of us when it's over?"

Markus didn't answer right away. His grip on his blade tightened, but before either could say another word—

A surge of power tore through the battlefield.

A wave of dark energy cracked through the ground, making the air heavy and suffocating.

Both turned, instincts sharpening as shadows twisted unnaturally through the ruined cityscape.

Demon users.

Their red eyes glowed through the haze, their bodies pulsing with raw, malevolent energy.

Markus rolled his shoulders, readying his weapon. "Guess the discussion's over."

Arnik exhaled sharply, focusing forward. "Stay sharp. These ones aren't like the rest."

The battlefield was a storm of blood and steel, but against all odds, they were pushing back.

Rose and Kai arrived just in time, cutting through enemy ranks with ruthless efficiency. The tide was turning.

"Looks like you needed our help," Kai quipped, adjusting his glasses.

"Don't fall behind," Rose smirked, twirling her Yari.

"I was about to say that to you!"

Boom. Boom.

The fight was relentless, a blur of clashing weapons and surging magic. But slowly—against the overwhelming force of Lionel's army—the demon users and machines began to fall back.

"We're… actually doing it," Rose panted, dropping to her knees, exhausted.

But Kai wasn't convinced. He pushed up his glasses, his sharp gaze scanning the battlefield. "Something's wrong."

Arnik and Markus followed his line of sight.

The machines had withdrawn—but they weren't retreating. They stood in the distance, silent, unmoving. Their heavy artillery had also stopped, weapons powered down but still aimed forward.

Then they saw him.

A lone figure emerged from the fog of war, walking towards them with a slow, deliberate pace.

The air itself seemed to recoil from his presence, his dark aura bleeding into the battlefield like a suffocating fog.

Markus froze.

He knew that man.

Satsujin.

The one who had murdered his Family

His blood boiled. His vision blurred with rage. Every fiber of his being screamed for vengeance.

Kai glanced at him, instantly recognizing the shift in his demeanor. He could hear Markus whispering under his breath.

"I'll kill you. Kill you. Kill. Kill."

His grip tightened around his weapon, so hard that his hands began to bleed.

"Markus…" Kai said cautiously.

"That's him," Markus muttered, his voice trembling with fury.

Kai's expression darkened. "You're sure?"

"That's him! The one who murdered them… all of them!"

Rose and Arnik exchanged a look. They had never seen Markus like this before.

Satsujin finally came to a stop, his piercing red eyes locked onto them.

Then, without a word, he pressed his hand against the ground.

The earth ruptured.

A shockwave of destruction tore through the battlefield, splitting the ground apart like paper. Soldiers were flung through the air, crushed beneath collapsing rubble, or eviscerated by the sheer force of impact.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Arnik shouted.

But it was too late.

BOOM! 

Arnik's ears rang. The world blurred in flashes of light and chaos. His breath hitched as he struggled to regain his footing, but the battlefield was a storm of destruction.

Magic bolts streaked past him, ripping through the broken landscape, kicking up dust and debris. The air reeked of scorched earth and blood.

He turned, searching frantically. "Kai! Rose! Markus!"

BOOM.

A sudden impact slammed into his chest. The force sent him flying backward, his ribs screaming in protest. He barely had time to brace before crashing into a pile of rubble.

Through hazy vision, he looked up—just in time to see a demon user looming over him. A wicked grin stretched across its jagged face.

Then, it struck.

Arnik barely managed to roll aside as the creature's clawed fist cratered the ground where his head had been. He countered, flames erupting from his hands as he sent a fiery blast into its torso. The demon screeched, stumbling back.

But there was no time to rest.

Kai darted through the battlefield, his weapon shifting in rapid succession—dagger to spear, spear to sword—each movement precise, every strike hitting its mark. But no matter how many he cut down, more came.

Rose was a blur of motion, her Yari spinning in deadly arcs. Blood smeared across her face, her ears twitching as she dodged a crushing blow. She fought like a cornered beast, moving with raw instinct.

Then there was Markus.

Markus fought like a demon himself.

He didn't dodge. He didn't retreat.

He tore through everything in his path.

A demon user lunged—Markus caught its arm mid-strike and twisted. A sickening snap echoed over the battlefield. The creature howled, but Markus didn't stop. He slammed his forehead into its face, sending it reeling.

Another demon user charged from behind. Markus didn't even turn—he hurled his trident-sword backward like a spear. It pierced clean through the demon's chest.

Still not done.

He yanked the first demon toward him and ripped its arm off with brute force. Blood sprayed across his face, dripping from his wild grin.

The creature shrieked, trying to regenerate.

Markus tackled it, sank his teeth into its throat, tearing chunks of flesh like a rabid animal.

It gurgled, still healing—

He grabbed its torso and pulled.

Veins bulged in his arms as he ripped the demon in half, its insides spilling onto the ground.

It still twitched.

Markus stomped its head.

Again, again and again.

The crunch of bone and brain matter splattered the ground.

The demon's body tried to reform.

Markus didn't stop.

Not until it was pulp.

Not until his breath came in ragged heaves, his body dripping in blood—most of it not his own.

Kai had paused, staring.

"…Markus…" he muttered.

This wasn't just brutality.

This was something else.

Markus looked like a MONSTER!!!

Aika's voice crackled through the comms, panicked. "Arnik! You have to come back alive! All of you! Please, fall back—now!"

Arnik gritted his teeth, dodging another strike and blasting a demon aside. "We're trying!"

But Markus wasn't trying to fall back.

He stepped forward, boots crunching scorched dirt, blade gleaming with fresh blood.

Satsujin.

He stood amidst the carnage, untouched. The battlefield warped around him, the air bending to his will. His red eyes locked onto Markus, a knowing smirk curling on his lips.

Markus didn't wait.

He exploded from the smoke. "HEY!"

Their blades met—sparks flew.

Markus struck with furious might.

Satsujin barely moved, gliding through the attacks. Lazy. Bored. Effortless.

Markus snarled, shifting his stance.

Too late.

Satsujin slipped inside his guard.

A hand clamped around Markus's throat.

CRACK!

His helmet shattered.

Markus gagged, clawing at the crushing grip. His boots kicked against the ground as he was lifted, vision darkening.

Satsujin leaned in. "I remember you… the little wolf pup. Still pathetic. Just like your parents."

Rage exploded behind Markus's eyes.

He tore free and hit the ground coughing.

Satsujin chuckled. "You should've stayed hidden."

Then he vanished.

SHNK!

Markus flinched. A line of blood blossomed across his chest. He staggered, gasping.

Satsujin flicked the blood from his blade. "Disappointing. I expected more from a Sentryon."

"MARKUS!" Kai yelled.

He sprinted forward—only to be slammed to the ground.

A demon user pinned him.

"Going somewhere, little mage?"

Kai squirmed.

"Watch closely," the demon hissed. "I want you to see how easily he dies."

Its grip tightened, claws pressing harder.

Snarling, Kai gritted his teeth—and twisted his fingers.

His weapon, still clutched in one hand, shimmered—shifting into a short blade.

In one desperate motion, he drove it straight into the demon's gut.

SHNK!

The creature gasped, its eyes going wide.

Kai pushed harder, twisting the blade deep, until black blood poured over his hand.

The demon gurgled, its strength fading.

"Get off," Kai growled, yanking the blade free and kicking it off of him.

Satsujin raised his sword.

Markus tried to block.

BOOM!

Satsujin was blasted back, crashing into a wall.

Smoke curled in the air.

Kai's head snapped to the source.

Crowne stood amidst the chaos, magic crackling from his palm.

He grinned. "I taught you better than this."

Markus forced himself upright, sword trembling in his hands. "Move… I'm not done."

Crowne flicked his wrist—Markus was pushed back just enough to stagger.

"Whoa, pup," Crowne smirked. "This guy's a hundred times stronger than you."

Markus growled. "Don't care."

Crowne sighed. "I do. Now get moving, or I'll make you."

Kai pushed off the ground, gritting his teeth.

Soft hands grabbed him.

"Up you go~"

Miu helped him up, smiling like it was just another walk in the park. "There we go. All better."

"Uh… thanks."

"No problem~"

Meanwhile, Blitz carved a brutal path through the battlefield.

Every step she took cracked the earth. Every swing of her fist turned steel to scrap. Screams and sparks followed in her wake as she carved through enemy machines like a human buzzsaw.

Her speed was impossible.

Too fast to track. Too sharp to predict.

One second she was in the air—mid-spin, mid-snarl—and the next, a mechanical soldier's face was caved into the dirt beneath her boots, the impact shaking the rubble-strewn ground like a tremor.

Then—she stopped.

Her eyes locked onto a spot just ahead.

A single slab of concrete. It shifted.

No hesitation.

Blitz bolted forward. Her boots hit the ground hard, sending up clouds of dust as she dropped to one knee beside the rubble.

With a low grunt, she dug her fingers beneath the slab.

Crack.

The stone split beneath her grip.

Her muscles flexed as she lifted—and flung the whole thing aside like it was made of cardboard.

Beneath it—

"Rose," she muttered.

The girl was crumpled like a discarded doll, her body scraped and bloodied, her Yari barely clutched in her trembling fingers. Her ears twitched faintly. A long, red trail ran down her cheek from a head wound.

Blitz's lips curled back. "Come on, woman."

Rose groaned. Her voice was barely audible—raw, uncertain.

But Blitz didn't wait.

"You're not dying here."

With zero ceremony, she hoisted Rose up and tossed her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Then she was running—again.

Through fire. Through craters. Through collapsing debris and the mechanical howl of machines. Her silhouette was a blur of motion streaking across a world tearing itself apart.

Ahead, the evac dropships hovered. The ramps were down. Their engines howled as they prepared to lift off.

She slid to a stop in front of Kai and Miu.

Without a word, she dropped Rose at their feet. Rose thudded to the ground with a weak gasp.

"You're getting on that damn evac ship," Blitz ordered, her chest heaving.

Kai's eyes widened as he looked up. Blood still streamed down the side of his face.

"But what about you…?"

Blitz grinned. It was wild. Crooked. Dangerous.

"We'll be right behind you."

Rose stirred, weakly pushing herself up on one arm. "N-no… I'm not leaving you guys…"

Blitz crossed her arms. "Carry your boyfriend."

Rose froze. "H-he's not my—!"

Her ears twitched.

Her face lit up bright red.

Kai coughed. "Seriously?"

Blitz rolled her eyes and turned back toward the battlefield. "Whatever. Move."

With a scowl and flushed cheeks, Rose threw Kai's arm over her shoulder.

"You could be gentler, you know…" Kai muttered.

"Oh, shut up," Rose snapped, ears flicking in irritation.

The two of them limped toward the evac ramp, Miu skipping along behind them like they weren't in the middle of hell.

But not all of them were heading for safety.

Behind them—

Satsujin moved.

A shadow of black and red mist streaked across the battlefield, cutting through fire, stone, and bodies with terrifying calm.

Arnik turned.

His eyes widened.

Too late.

A blade came for him.

He barely had time to raise his arms.

Clang!

A cane struck the air between them, catching the blade at the last possible moment. A gust of force blasted the dust back in all directions.

The attacker's momentum halted.

Arnik's breath caught.

There, standing between him and death, stood Vayne.

Not a hair out of place.

His coat didn't even ripple from the blow.

"You should go," Vayne said coolly, his voice like the edge of a knife. "This fight is above your station."

Arnik hesitated. "But—"

"I wasn't asking."

The pressure in the air said enough.

Arnik turned and ran.

Behind him, the battlefield lit up.

The top mages of Mars stood their ground.

Crowne cracked his neck. Flames swirled in his palms, dancing up his forearms.

"This is gonna be bloody," he said, eyes wide, grin feral. "And I love that."

Vayne straightened his collar, sighing as though this whole thing was a minor inconvenience. "So inelegant…"

Takashima's voice rang through the comms. "Hold them off."

Blitz stepped forward, blood still dripping from her knuckles. "All of them?"

"How long?" Vayne asked.

"Ten minutes."

Crowne laughed like it was the punchline to a joke. "That's it?! And here I thought you were gonna challenge us!"

There was a pause.

Takashima again, voice low. "Miu… get back safe, okay?"

Silence. Then— "I'll try," she said softly.

And then— He returned.

Satsujin stepped out from the smoke, his red eyes glowing, blade humming with hunger.

"Well, well," he said, smiling. "The top mages of Mars. What an honor."

Vayne didn't blink. "You're a fool if you think you can take us alone."

"I'd love to," Satsujin replied. "But the smarter move…"

His eyes shifted—toward the ship.

"…is to cut down the escape."

He vanished.

"Crowne!" Vayne snapped.

But Crowne was already gone.

A thundercrack split the sky.

Satsujin appeared mid-air, blade arcing straight toward the dropship's engine.

And there—waiting for him—

Crowne.

Twin blades drawn. Magic roaring from his core.

Clang!

The sound of steel on steel shook the air.

Satsujin's face twisted with surprise. "Fast."

Crowne's grin widened. "Faster than you."

The sky lit up in a storm of flame and shadow.

Below, Vayne turned calmly toward the horde marching toward them.

He rolled his shoulders. His cane glowed.

And as the earth trembled beneath their feet, he gave a quiet sigh.

"Let's push them back."

And in that moment—

The final stand began.