Soul Spark

17 - Divine Purge

“No...”

“I cannot fall...”

“Not...yet...”

Kaito’s vision was getting blurrier by the seconds. He couldn’t properly feel his legs anymore, he had trouble breathing. All of his focus on protecting his brain resulted in the other parts of her body to halt their regeneration, which would present itself to be the result of this apparent downfall.

“Kaito? What’s...wrong?”

“I can’t...stop...here...”

With his little remaining strength, he glared at the alliance in front him. Twelve soulfuls, all capable of combat, all fulfilling special roles. And most importantly - the weapon in their possession, the replicative dagger, which held his own power. At the brink of hopelessness, the only thing keeping his body ‘alive’ was his determination, sparked by his wrath.

"Ah...right...I can hear you now..."

The gentle female voice that he heard pushed his determination more and more, stopping Kaito from collapsing altogether. That, and the many other voices he heard, sparked his wrath even more. Within a few seconds, his presence went from a fading memory to a powerful statement. It skyrocketed. Whatever light clouds were in the sky were dispersed.

“Kaito, I’m sorry...”

“The moment I devoured the fifth soul, I was able to hear your voice."

“Maybe I did some things wrong.”

“I was able to attain something which I could never utilize by myself."

“I don’t know why, but...I really can’t do it anymore.”

“Don't say those things...”

“I don’t know why, but it feels like everyone hates me. I won’t be surprised if you hate me too.”

“I-”

“I don’t think I can go on for any longer.”

"Is that...what you felt...?"

"It's...it's okay...I'm here..."

“Your soul is with me..."

" ✦ Yume.✦ "

“Hey, what the fuck is going on with him?” Haruki asked. “Mukawa!”

“No, no no no no...something’s off. Something’s horribly off.” Mukawa shook his hand. He felt the dagger’s tendrils pierce deeper and deeper into his hand, almost becoming a part of it. But at the same time, it felt like the blade was empty.

“What do we do?” Ichigo asked.

“We...”

They all fell silent as they noticed Kaito’s body change. His wounds were covered up with a pure, divine white, and it started filling up more and more of his body, until even his most severe wounds were rejuvenated. But his heart remained empty.

“I’m sorry...” Kaito thought.

“This is all their fault, isn’t it? This is all...all their fault...they did that to you...” Thɪs chapter is updated by N()velFire.net

“Their hatred...this time, I'll combat it with that of my own, and I'll use it to destroy them. I'll use it to purge this soulless world...”

“All of it...”

“I’ll stay true to my purpose.”

“I’ll destroy...all of it...”

“And you...” Kaito said, gritting his teeth. Some of the divine essence escaped his mouth and leaked from his eyes too. His hands were glowing...

Mukawa realized that the situation was no longer in his control.

“To think that you would fight for the soulless trash...” Kaito’s presence felt light. So light, that it was even more terrifying than whatever drowning power it used to have.

“To think that you’d dare to...defy my purpose...to defy...her...”

“All for the sake of the soulless?!”

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation. ✦ ”

The allied combatants watched in disbelief. They were lost. All of their planning, their success...it no longer meant anything. They were up against something they did not know anything about. They could only speculate...

Two very long pairs of thin wings emerged from Kaito’s back. A halo appeared above his head. It shared the same color as the pure white wings - but it had a black four-sided star in the middle, piercing through the halo’s edges with its sharp sides.

A moment later, the wings broke apart - revealing a much smaller pair of wings - resembling that of a holy white crow. Kaito’s body had fully regenerated, with his torso being covered by the pure white with hues of pure black, all slightly glowing. His chest, where his missing heart was, also healed - but that area was decorated with more black than white.

“ ✦ Judgement Of The Soulful Heavens. ✦ ”

The combatants watched in awe. The area was covered by a hollow, white light, as if the sun’s warm rays were impeached by something beyond its comprehension.

“No...this isn’t it. We have a chance.” Haruki said, preparing to attack.

“Haruki, don’t-”

“He hasn’t fully manifested it yet!” Haruki said. “We need to get to him before he completes...whatever the fuck that thing is! Come on, cover me! Now!”

He rushed at Kaito at full speed, holding onto his blade and every bit of his courage and resolve. But before he managed to get close, before he even got the opportunity to properly look Kaito in his eyes, something struck him. Kaito calmly extended his hand, and a moment later, from the hollowness of the white light, a bolt of energy emerged.

“Haruki!!!!!” Mukawa yelled, trying to reach for him as if it was going to do anything.

It latched onto Haruki, and a moment later, he was killed. Parts of his chest were destroyed, blown apart, but the main damage was done to its soul. It was extinguished. Broken apart, dimmed and forced to surrender. Haruki wasn’t strong enough to protect his soul from something of that caliber, while at the same time trying to protect his body against an extremely potent physical attack that ripped through him like he wasn’t even there. In just one moment, Haruki had lost his life to a power beyond anything he could think of.

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation Release. ✦ ”

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“ ✦ Divine Purge. ✦ ”

“No...” Mukawa’s hand started shaking. He took a step back.

“Hell nah, that thing...” Zawadski said, feeling fear for the first time in the longest while. “It can kill any of us, can’t it?”

”Mukawa, you can...use this too, right?” Zervos asked. ”You have his soul expression, can you...can you use this against him?!”

“I-”

Before he finished his sentence, Kaito was already in another fight. He rushed to Kana, who, still refusing to accept Haruki’s demise, charged at Kaito. With all her fury, she swiped at him...

“Claw!!!”

Kaito intercepted the attack and punched a hole through her stomach. He dragged his hand out and grabbed her by her face, slamming her head first into the ground with enough force to crush her head.

“We’re retreating.” Ichigo said. “Everyone! Retreat right now, I’ll hold him off!”

“Ichigo!” Jian called out, but it was too late.

Ichigo flew at Kaito, trying to take him down again. Kaito stepped aside, and the two exchanged a few strikes before Kaito, with sheer power, overwhelmed Ichigo’s block, and, breaking his arms, grabbed him by the throat and ripped his head off.

Ichigo was resurrected, and before Kaito struck him in his jaw with enough force to break it open. But despite that, he managed to utter the words that acted as their last hope.

“Divine...ring...of exorcism...”

The light fell upon the two, but for Kaito, it didn’t even matter. It burnt him, it wounded him, but not enough to stop him. Ichigo’s eyes were starting to bleed a little, he had a bad headache. Once more, Ichigo was using his offensive ability as a smokescreen. Kaito threw Ichigo away with immense force and released a slash at him strong enough to destroy his body. Two wings left.

Jian and Zawadski rushed towards Ichigo, and Zawadski was able to buy the two a little bit of time, but despite his constant savescumming, he was getting beaten. Badly. And the risk of the acclamation release was still far too great.

“We gotta...get the fuck out of here...” Zawadski said, catching his breath, with heavy injuries all over his body. He had to save and loud around a hundred times just for a few seconds of combat. He had bloodshot eyes.

“The operation-”

“There is no operation! We’re not dying here!” Zawadski yelled, helping Ichigo get back up. Kaito tried to rush them down, but Jain shot at his foot - tripping him for a few seconds. She still had her soul expression enhanced. Zawadski, Jian and in a moment, Yuuka were grouped up together.

Kaito felt gunfire tickle him. He turned his attention to see Alby Jr. desperately spraying and praying. With one motion of his hand, he was struck with the Divine Purge, and instantly killed.

Ichigo, however, didn’t ascend into the air yet. He slowly went towards Zervos.

“Please, get on my back. I’ll...I’ll get as many of you as I can...out of here...” He said, his voice tired.

“Right...” Zervos said. He noticed Kaito shift his gaze to the grouped up Heisei soldiers, and his decision was immediately changed.

“No...”

“He’ll go for them.”

He took a deep breath and sprinted towards Ichigo. But instead of taking the escape route, he went past him and landed a slashing attack on Kaito. Kaito really didn’t expect Zervos to not take the offer.

“This is what a captain is supposed to do. A captain can’t just sit back and watch.”

“No matter how bad it gets...I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Get out!!!” Zervos yelled. He swung his blade more and more, but Kaito didn’t even bother summoning his own. He carefully moved around, evading the attacks, and whenever possible, swiping at Zervos to badly scratch him. And by saying scratch, it's more accurate to say he was ripping chunks of his muscles out.

"C-Captain..." Ichigo was in disbelief. But he shook his head and quickly took off, flying as far as possible. Jian was the last one to take a good look at the captain, and a tear slowly escaped her eye. The four of them escaped...

Kaito tried to use Divine Purge again, but failed to manifest it properly.

“I was your target, right?” Zervos asked. “Come on then! Fight me!”

“The last piece...” Kaito said, taking a step forward. Zervos, with so many wounds, tightly held onto his blade and took a stance. At the same time, something sparked on Kaito’s torso.

“Alpha, beta, gamma, delta...” Rin recited in the distance, her presence flaring up.

“Right...there it is! One of the victory conditions!” Sofia thought, observing the battle, barely holding back her tears. Zervos quickly swung his blade at Kaito again, who fell victim to another slashing attack. He was focused on Rin more.

“They all combine to form-”

Kaito was already close to her. He swiped at her, breaking both of her arms with ease. He punched her in the side of her stomach, destroying a chunk of her body. As Rin bled out, with hope fading away in her eyes, she failed to complete the lesson’s explanation, and therefore, couldn’t reach Digamma. Kaito kicked her butchered body down into the ground and sent a quick flurry of pure energy releases at her, finishing her off.

“Mukawa!” Sofia yelled in the distance. “Do something!”

Mukawa was watching, with powerlessness flooding his eyes. He was trying everything to gain the dagger’s power, it felt like it was only lit up halfway. He tried to swing it around, he even hit the ground with it, hoping for a miracle to happen. It just...didn’t want to activate.

The last dedicated combatant, Zervos, seeing Rin’s demise, charged at Kaito. He went in for a decapitating attack, but Kaito sensed it coming and quickly weaved out of the way. Kaito then summoned his own blade, and the two began yet another heated weapon exchange - with Kaito having the dominant upper hand. Eventually, after landing enough slashing attacks, he caught Zervos with a stabbing one and pierced him in the chest.

As a surge of energy was channeled into the blade, a large park of Zervos’ body was destroyed. Zervos collapsed. Kaito approached him and stabbed him in the head with his blade.

“And there it is...” He thought to himself. He saw the essence hover slightly above Zervos’ corpse.

“But...”

He looked at Mukawa in the distance.

“I need to take care of him first.”

“Mukawa, get out. I’ll try to...keep him here for a bit.” Sofia radioed. She left her station and ran as fast as she could towards the battlefield.

“He has the dagger, he just...needs some time.”

“I still have faith.”

“He’ll manage to figure something out, like he always does. He’ll manage to...pull this off...”

As soon as Kaito as little as noticed Sofia, her fate was decided. Zervos was no longer present to destabilize his abilities. One Divine Purge was all it took to kill her.

There were only two remaining.

“Mukawa...” Asami said, rushing towards him. She started the enhancement ritual, and her ally noticed the light blue aura forming beneath him.

“What are you-”

“I’m enhancing you! So you can...use that thing and kill him!” Asami said.

“Why didn’t you get away?!” Mukawa yelled. Asami was a little scared of the sudden outburst. She took a few steps back, but didn’t let go of the ritual.

“B-Because...you can do it...” Asami said, tearing up. “I have faith in you!”

The dagger started glowing more. For just a second, Mukawa felt hope. He looked at Asami, thinking that the enhancement was the reason. Thinking that if he tried again, it would all work out.

But he ran out of time.

Kaito was behind Asami. He pierced her with his blade. Mukawa remembered well the last thing she saw in Asami’s eyes. It wasn’t faith, it wasn’t anger or sorrow. She was scared.

Kaito took the blade out of Asami and cut her head off. Her lifeless body fell on the ground, and her head rolled on the ground a little before coming to a half. Kaito unsummoned his blade and slowly approached the speechless Mukawa.

“Take a good look.” He said. Mukawa was still at a distance, but it didn’t look like he was going to run anywhere. “This is the consequence of caring about the soulless so much.”

“Guys...I...” Mukawa thought, watching Kaito slowly approach him.

“This wasn’t supposed to be this way.”

“No...I was...”

“We were supposed to...save...everyone...”

“I’ll put you out of your misery now, you disgusting, soulless, blind empath.” Kaito said.

“I...I thought this would all work...it did work...” Mukawa said, his hands shaky. “So why did...”

Perhaps it was a reflex, perhaps he thought that by doing so he’d avoid a far more gruesome fate. Perhaps he thought that he deserved to die because of everything that happened. But he stabbed himself in the heart with the dagger.

But by sheer miracle, it was the only correct solution.

The divine white essence spread into his chest, and the dagger started melting into Mukawa’s body. Mukawa’s presence didn’t just increase, it changed. And around him, across the battlefield, a strange phenomena began taking place...

A strange essence arose from the remnants of Kana’s body. A similar essence arose from that of Rin’s. And the same happened with Asami’s. Most concerningly for Kaito, the exact same happened to Zervos. Those essences looked miniature, they looked like small white sparks surrounded by a black nothingness. And quickly, they pulled themselves towards the hole in Mukawa’s chest.

“What the...” Kaito, who was assured of his opponent’s lack of options, found himself bemused by such a development.

The light halo, surrounded with a dark gray and decorated with light purplish hues above Mukawa’s head shone brighter - morphing into a purely white and gray one, glowing even brighter.

“I’m sorry...” Mukawa said to himself. Not even he was sure of what was going on. All he could sense is those four people’s souls slowly integrating themselves where his heart was supposed to be. Something felt empty there, something was lacking.

“In the end, I manipulated you all into your certain death. I’m...so sorry...”

“But still...”

“There is a way.”

His presence began flaring up. He realized that in order to fill what was missing, he’d need to sacrifice himself to play that role. Such a burden could not be withstood by the body of the one with the divine power alone, that is why the template was the way it was.

But Mukawa didn’t care about divine power. That is why, despite using an incorrect and dangerous template, he managed to pull it off. All he needed was raw power. His presence reached its absolute apotheosis. The last hope of mankind...

“Soulless, soulful, it doesn’t matter. All people deserve kindness.”

“There is a way. To save as many people as possible.”

“If I have to be the one responsible for protecting humanity against this monster...”

“Then I’ll take that burden...”

“ ✦ Even if it’s the last thing I do! ✦ ”

“ ✦✦✦ ABSOLUTE....

...MANIFESTATION!!!!!!!!!!! ✦✦✦ ”