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Chapter 9 - Last Roar

The fight between Darian and Hanna began in the blink of an eye. She threw her katana straight at his face—a lethal strike, without hesitation. But Darian raised his head and released a sonic wave that collided with the blade midair, deflecting its course before it could hit him.

"A direct attack? How desperate. I'm so disappointed, Hanna..." Darian said with a sneering smile.

When he looked back to where she was, he realized... she had vanished. Darian spun his body, scanning around with his eyes... until he looked up and saw Hanna falling from above, dagger in hand, ready to strike.

He lunged to the side, and Hanna's blade missed its target, burying itself deep into the ground. Without missing a beat, she, still crouched, spun her body and landed a precise sweep, knocking Darian down on his back. In one swift move, she pulled the dagger back and brought it straight to his face.

But Darian reacted quickly. He unleashed another sonic wave, stronger and more deafening than the last, hitting Hanna full on. The impact made her stagger backward, her ears ringing as if about to explode, her eyes blurred, completely disoriented.

"Tsk... Still holding on? What foolishness. Why not just make it easy and come for the boy?" Darian said, slowly standing up. He approached Hanna with a look of contempt and a smirk, and with a sharp movement, ripped the dagger from her hands.

He then delivered a brutal kick, sending Hanna flying about eight meters.

With Hanna stunned and Alice unconscious, Arthur was completely vulnerable to any move Darian made.

"You've crawled enough. How about we finish this now?" Darian said, stopping in front of Hanna. He took a deep breath, chest swelling, a new deadly scream forming in his throat.

But before he could unleash the attack, Arthur suddenly appeared, landing a direct punch that created a compressed vacuum, which then brutally expanded inside the enemy's mouth.

The punch sent him several steps back, a thin line of blood trickling from the corner of his nose. The pain was real but far from breaking his balance. Darian rubbed his face with disdain, staring at Arthur with a crooked smile... a silent warning that he was far from defeated.

"Not bad, huh?" Darian muttered, wiping the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Arthur held Hanna in his arms and took her to a more sheltered corner, where the sonic waves couldn't reach her as intensely. Her body barely stayed upright... injured, exhausted, with blood trickling from her ears and eyes—visible marks from the earlier attack.

Darian watched with a smile, as if Arthur's pain was just entertainment for him.

"Look at you... barely able to stand after a pathetic attack. You're falling apart. Come on, stop crawling... I want to take you in one piece," Darian said with a cynical smile, as if talking to a broken toy.

"Hanna... Alice... you hurt them both.

If the target was me... why did you do that to them?" Arthur asked, his voice low and trembling, barely able to hold it steady.

"My mission is simple: bring you and Hanna alive... and erase the other one. But leaving them broken makes my job easier," Darian said, his voice dripping with contempt.

"Oh... so it's just 'your job'?" Arthur murmured, not taking his eyes off him.

Darian barely had time to respond when Arthur exploded from the ground, cracking the earth beneath his feet. Reflexively, Darian unleashed a sonic wave that struck him hard.

The sonic blast hit him squarely, making his body shudder and his feet drag across the ground. But Arthur didn't stop. He gritted his teeth, forced every muscle against the impact, and advanced, even though his body tore with the effort.

He reached Darian and, with a twist of his torso, delivered a violent punch to his lung. The air around compressed instantly... then exploded, creating a sharp crack inside the enemy's body.

Darian slammed the ground with a sonic wave and was thrown back, creating distance between him and Arthur. He fell to his knees a few meters away, clutching his side—the site of the blow.

His fingers trembled upon touching the area. The pain pulsed, internal and deep. And it was growing.

"You won't be able to scream with full power... if your lungs are damaged," Arthur said, gasping... his voice almost a whisper, his body barely holding up.

For the first time, Darian trembled... he faced a human who, despite all those injuries... knowing that after a few minutes his body would give out from exhaustion... yet still kept attacking. Genuine fear consumed Darian.

But Arthur gave no respite. He advanced again, dodging sonic attacks and taking hits from weaker ones, until he got close enough to strike once more.

With a fluid spin, Arthur launched himself through the air and landed a precise punch on the side of Darian's skull, compressing the air around the impact, which then exploded with brutal force. Darian staggered, dazed, trying to regain balance, but Arthur didn't stop. A left hook hit his chin, followed by a strong punch to the side of his lung. The last blow worsened the internal injuries, and Darian spat blood, choking on the pain.

"Not yet..." Arthur thought to himself.

Arthur grabbed Darian by the arm and slammed him hard onto the ground. Without wasting time, he grabbed the top of his head and started running, dragging his face harshly across the rough asphalt.

With a final push, Arthur threw Darian against the stage, which collapsed in an avalanche of debris, burying him under the weight of the structure.

Meanwhile, Hanna, limping heavily and breathing with difficulty, ran to Alice. With trembling hands, she shook Alice, trying to wake her from unconsciousness.

"Alice... wake up! Y-you need to get out of here, or you'll get hurt!" Hanna said, worried.

Alice awoke... feeling the pain rising through her body... unable to move.

"I... I can't walk... my back hurts too much..." she said, trying to stand but too weak.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of you," Hanna said, with a weak but sincere smile.

Carefully, she lifted Alice onto her back, feeling her weight, and slowly began moving away from the chaos.

10 minutes later

Arthur, gasping and covered in blood, took his last steps amid smoke and destruction. Before him, Darian lay sprawled on the ground... his face unrecognizable, his jaw broken, unable even to make a sound.

"You say you were just doing your job... But that doesn't change the fact that you take pleasure in these atrocities. You piece of shit," Arthur growled, his hands trembling as he searched Darian's pockets and pulled out a crumpled paper and a cellphone.

He stepped back, looking for Hanna and Alice nearby.

But behind him, Maicon, still alive, began to move.

"I bleed... but I don't fall. Remember that, Arthur... hell will collect every drop of me," Darian thought, struggling to stand, a sickly gleam in his eyes.

Darian tried to focus another sonic wave, the strongest he'd ever created. But with his broken jaw and the accumulated force, the task proved fatal: the pressure imploded inside his own head, causing it to explode. He fell, lifeless.

Arthur said not a word. With blurry eyes, he stared at what was left of Darian for a moment, blood still dripping from his ears. Every step was dragged, his body trembling... yet even so… he simply turned his back silently and walked away.

His only thought: to find Hanna and Alice.

Half an hour later

Arthur searched the rubble with a blurry gaze but found no sign of Hanna or Alice.

The remaining silence was only broken by distant sirens; the police wouldn't be long.

With his body nearly in pieces and heart pounding hard, he turned his back on the destruction and limped toward home. It was the only place he could still find them.

Arriving home, Arthur pushed the door open and found Hanna kneeling beside Alice, carefully tending to her wounds.

When Alice saw him covered in blood, dirty-faced, and with dull eyes, panic exploded in her chest.

"Arthur..." she murmured, eyes wide. Seeing the blood flowing all over his body, her face paled, but her voice stayed firm.

She tried to get up, pushing her body despite the pain in her back.

"He's bad. Really bad. Shit..." she whispered, jaw clenched, holding back panic.

"He's losing a lot of blood...! Hanna, forget about me. Take care of him now," she said worriedly, still trying to stand... but failing.

"I'm fine... it's just a little cut," Arthur insisted, forcing a reassuring expression... but on his first step, his legs gave out. He fell to his knees, then collapsed completely.

Alice tried to stay calm but failed. Her chest tightened, her heart racing. Alice hated feeling helpless... unable to help him.

"Stay right there, Alice. I'll take care of him... and then I'll come back to finish your dressing," Hanna said, her voice softer than usual. She bent down, slipped her arm around Arthur's back, and carefully lifted him up.

"Okay... thanks, Hanna..." Alice said, in a softer tone than usual.

Watching Hanna care for Arthur, something inside Alice twisted. It was strange... trusting her, even if only instinctively. Maybe it was just the moment, but none of that mattered now... she could only hope Arthur would recover.

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