Elorin watched as his grandfather slid off of his de. He seemed to frown slightly before his brows smoothed out.


    By now, the way he and Hutch saw the world was simply far too different. Hutch was still bound by his duty even now, but Elorin had no loyalty to anyone outside of himself. There were many things that he couldn''t be bothered to exin even to his grandfather, but now he felt lighter.


    Even so, Elorin was aware that his grandfather had gone easy on him. Not once did Hutch use his spatial affinity, of which he potentially had the highest on the entirety of Earth. There was a reason Hutch was probably one of the most talented rawbatants Earth had.


    However, in the end, he didn''t have the ability to go all out against his own grandson. In fact, he chose death. Rather than being forced to choose between what he felt was right and his own flesh and blood, this felt like the much easier path.


    Elorin was aware of this as well, but he wasn''t moved. Of course, this wasn''t to say that he didn''t care about his grandfather. Rather, he felt that he could defeat his grandfather whether he went all out or not. In fact, as things stood right now...


    He believed that he was the strongest warrior in Earth''s territory.


    Elorin sheathed his de, kneeling to give grandfather''s side.


    Carefully, he turned his grandfather over. He didn''t seem to care about what was happening in the surroundings at all as he looked at the peaceful smile on Hutch''s face.


    Elorin remained silent for a long while. The blood that pooled from the wound coated his palms, sinking into the sleeves of his white tracksuit, but he didn''t seem to notice.


    After what must have been at least five minutes, he reached forward and closed his grandfather''s eyes and then picked him up.


    No one on the battlefield seemed to have the courage to stop him. They could only watch as Elorin made his way to the front of the Ascension Pce.


    A surge of de Force pulsed once, then twice, cutting out a perfect piece ofnd with edges as smooth as a mirror''s surface. If one looked into it and had a keen eye, it would be possible to tell that it was exactly six feet deep, not a single centimeter deeper or shallower.


    Elorin allowed his grandfather''s body to fall, but it didn''t seem to follow thews of gravity. Hutch''s body fluttered like a falling snowke, gently descending to the bottom.


    Elorin paused for only a moment before the hole was perfectly covered up.


    Unsheathing his de, he carved out arge b of the pearly white and gold three-quarters of his height before piercing it into the ground. With a flicker of his wrist, several beams of de Force surged forward, carving into the b.


    ''Here Lies a Loyal Warrior.''


    The words were simple and unadorned, almost casual, but epassed Hutch''s life perfectly without the slightest hint of exaggeration. The location of the grave spoke all the words that needed to be spoken. Right beneath the first step of the Ascension Pce, at the very center of this war, the very center of Earth itself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was both a sign of respect and disrespect, both a sign of closure and a furious opening.


    The doors to the pce opened wide as Elorin walked around his grandfather''s grave and began to walk up the steps. With the first missing, he was forced to stretch his foot out far further before he could begin to walk up slowly and steadily. He didn''t even look up to meet the gaze of Noah Fawkes, still looking at the ground with a calm gaze as the de Force on his machete hummed.


    Noah stood at the tallest height of the stares with a serious expression, his veins pulsing. His expression was just as even as Elorin''s, butparatively speaking, his blood was boiling.


    He had reacted as quickly as possible, and yet it felt as though the entirety of Earth was thrown into an upheaval.


    Elorin finally looked up and Noah felt his heart skip a beat. At that moment, the calm Elorin had a gaze that was surprisingly fiendish. His expression hadn''t moved, but his eyes seemed to hold a concentrated, abyssal hell, pulsing with a furious red. Noah almost felt the need to step out of his way.


    Instinctually, Noah swung down his blue saber, allowing it to grow to over ten meters long under the power of his Ability Index, it was as though he had seen a monster that needed to be destroyed as quickly as possible.


    "... All those with the Fawkes name... deserve death," Elorin said lightly.


    Noah could hardly react. His de passed through Elorin as though he wasn''t there at all.


    CLANG!


    A machete de rebounded against Noah''s neck, leaving a white streak around what should have been a severed head.


    Noah''s heart lurched. If it wasn''t because he had sensed a threat and used his Ability Index to change the density and weight of his skin, that singr strike would have killed him. In fact, if it wasn''t because Elorin had underestimated him and had been toozy to use his de Force, that one strike would have taken his life.


    Noah''s gaze narrowed as he changed the density of his body again and allowed himself to flutter away like a leaf in the wind.


    Inwardly, he was more than a little shaken. When had Earth gained such a powerful Seventh Dimensional existence? This should be Hutch''s grandson, he knew this much. But he hadn''t disyed any outstanding abilities ever since the invasion of Terrain, just what was going on here?


    Just as Noah was thinking, he inexplicably found himself standing in the same ce he had been before, as though he had never fluttered away to begin with.


    His heart leapt into his throat. How had this happened?!


    Before he could think, Elorin''s de was already descending with no intention of nging against his neck again. A bright de Force swung forth with it.