58

Blade's dark eyes shifted from figure to figure. To him, there was no such thing as an ally or an enemy. Every living being was simply something to kill for the man.

His grip on his scythe tightened. "So who's first?" he asked, obviously not expecting an answer.

"Wait," Arcane spoke, approaching his two servants. His shield still remained sturdy, except for the small hole that Secille was able to successfully crush. He pointed his shrill finger at the reaper. "Tell me...You are the Infernal right?"

Blade scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Of course I am! To have such a weak man mock me behind his little shield. Disgusting."

Arcane frowned. "There's no way he could have possibly shown up..." the man thought to himself. Sweat rolled down the man's cheeks. "No...The Book of the Future is never wrong. There must be some mistake!"

Sol watched Arcane's actions carefully in order to keep him from doing anything suspicious, but he couldn't help but notice the surprise and fear that the strange man was feeling. "He's nervous...but why? He was so confident and scheming not too long ago..." Sol wondered.

"Are you just going to stand there or what?" Blade asked, taking steps forward. "Alright then. I guess I can save Destello for last. I'll crack that weak shield open and watch you squirm.

Arcane gulped, but he kept his demeanor. "Oh ho...Relax...If you think you alone can defeat us...Then you've got it all wrong." The devious man grinned, holding onto his book even tighter. "My name...is Arcane."

Blade's eyes widened. With a short grunt, the reaper's footsteps stopped. Strangely, the reaper began to chuckle. "Haha...So you're the Arcane I've been looking for...Didn't expect you to be so cowardly."

Arcane opened his narrow eyes and frowned. "Looking for me? How come?" he asked. But inside the man, his thoughts spoke otherwise. "Shit...According to the book, I'm not supposed to meet this guy until another year! Just what is happening...If things get worse, I might have to use it."

Blade grinned. He looked over at Sol and then back at Arcane. "An old adversary of mine told me all about you. Said you were a genius with technology and a skillful tactician, so I assumed that you were pretty skilled in battle as well...Don't disappoint me!" At that moment, Blade grabbed his scythe and leapt towards Arcane.

Quickly, Diabel motioned to protect Arcane by putting his right arm in front of Arcane. "Master! Get out of this battle!"

The scythe smashed into Diabel's right arm, successfully cutting through a piece of his metallic arm. "You're the guy who tried to kill me from before..." Blade prepared a second attack, straight for the head. "Let's see if your new body can keep your head connected to your body!" With a powerful swing, he attempted to behead the giant in one last shot.

Bliss, acting quickly, jumped forward and kicked the reaper away before he was able to do so. "He's strong!" Bliss exclaimed. She then proceeded to hold both of her arms out. With a smirk, the palms of her hands opened up like panels, revealing several small holes. "Hmph...Let's see if you can take these, reaper." After a moment of silence, the holes began to rotate rapidly.

Blade watched closely for something to happen, and then, before he knew it, a bullet scratched his left ear. "What..." He touched his earlobe, glancing at the blood. "Bullets...from her hands?"

Bliss chuckled. "Got a taste of one?!" She cackled maniacally as her eyes expanded. "Well then take these!" Suddenly, the bullets began to arrive in rapid, powerful bursts.

The reaper shook his head. "If you think simple bullets will stop me...then you have a lot to learn, girl." Blade's scythe scattered into particles of black dust, which then rearranged itself to form a shield around the reaper. The bullets crashed into the black wall and dropped to the ground, unable to pierce through it.

Sol watched in awe as the Infernal was cruising towards victory on his own. "I'm going to have to fight this man someday...He's so damn powerful..."

Bliss gritted her teeth. "Damn it...Guess I have no choice!" The young woman closed up her palms, and closed her eyes. "Diabel...Get him."

Blade, who was focusing so much on Bliss, forgot about the larger threat. He turned around slowly and found the metal giant waiting behind him for a crushing blow. Instinctively, Blade rolled out of the way before Diabel brought his arms down on him. "So weak...Two against one and you can barely even touch me," Blade scornfully commented. Specks of dust and dirt got all over his clothes, but other than that, he was unharmed by his two foes.

Diabel stepped towards Blade and grinned. "You certainly are a difficult foe, reaper," the giant noted. "But even you have weaknesses. That much I can get out just by our first encounter."

Blade recreated his scythe and glared up at the giant. "Really? Tell me."

With a huge grin, Diabel glanced over at Bliss, who was still closing her eyes. "Take a good look at her...and then..." The giant man turned his head over at the group consisting of Reiko and Cera taking care of Perel and Secille. "Take one last look at them."

The reaper chuckled. "Keeping hostages will not hinder me," Blade bluntly stated. He swung his scythe at Diabel, who tried to block the powerful blows. Each attack created new scratches on his metal body. "I thought you as lowly, but now I see that you've sunk down even further."

Bliss opened her eyes and cackled madly. Her eyes were not her usual blue. They glowed bright red and seemed much different from any usual eyes. "It's too late, reaper! Watch your allies perish!" A red streak of light emerged from Bliss's eyes, guiding her next attack.

Blade shook his head. "You still don't understand, do you..." With a powerful blow, the reaper pushed back Diabel using his scythe. "I have no allies...Just enemies...and one girl that I truly care about." Blade's scythe faded away as the wind blew. He then quickly ran towards Diabel, who was shocked to see the reaper so arrogantly attacking him without weapons.

The young girl's eyes flashed brightly, and with a loud scream, she fired an extremely powerful red beam of energy straight at the group tending the injured.

Blade clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. "Too bad for you, she's one of them." With one strong punch, he smashed a huge dent into Diabel's chest. However, the giant's steel skin opened up new wounds in Blade's knuckles due to the force the reaper exerted in that one blow. Despite that, Blade's attack was powerful enough to send even Diabel flying, right into the path of Bliss's laser.

Quickly reacting, Diabel held his right arm in the way of the laser. Once the powerful beam collided with his sturdy arm, he noticed that particles of the beam were beginning to reflect off of his metallic skin. "Looks like your plan has been foiled, reaper." Diabel adjusted his arm, so that now that the beam was redirected towards Blade himself.

Blade was surprised at this sudden turn of events. "What...That beam didn't even affect him." Oblivious to Diabel's scheme, he unknowingly walked towards the giant to finish him off. "Then it looks like I'll have to finish you right now."

Diabel laughed. "No...it looks like you're the one that's about to be finished, reaper!" The giant motioned in a way that allowed the entirety of Bliss's attack to be redirected straight at the reaper. The beam collided with something, bringing a huge cloud of debris into the sky.

"Blade!" Reiko screamed, quickly leaving Cera's side to check on her master. "Blade!"

Cera, noticing that her rival had left her, stood up and raced after her. "Reiko! Don't! It's too dangerous over there for us!"

She grabbed onto Reiko's arm, but she quickly flung Cera's hand away with force. "Don't try to stop me, Cera! He's hurt and he needs help!" She angrily turned away from Cera and ran towards the dense area of dust.

Cera, clearly annoyed, grabbed onto Reiko's purple sweater, pulled her back, and slapped her across the face. "Reiko! Are you crazy?! You're walking into a death trap!"

Reiko, shocked by Cera's actions, stood speechless. Instead, the area around her cheeks and her eyes began to grow bright crimson. "I don't want him to die...He means so much to me..."

At that moment, the pair of girls could hear the sound of faint coughing. "Ughh...Die?...What's going on?" Perel asking, slowly sitting up from the ground. "Is something happening?..."

Cera guided Reiko back towards the injured pair, and kneeled beside them. "You should get some rest first, Perel..." Cera recommended with gentleness.

The trainer looked beside her and noticed an unconscious Secille wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. "Oh no...Secille...Did she-"

"She did amazing...If it weren't for her actions...I don't know what would have become of us...or to Sol..." Cera added with a petite smile.

Perel's eyes widened. "Wait...Sol?...Sol?! He's here?!" The trainer quickly stood up and glanced towards the cloud of dust that still remained hovering around the field. "What happened over there?..."

Slowly, the constant breeze of the wind brought the dust away from the field, allowing for a clearer view of the area. Finally, the dust settled revealing the entire scene.

Blade remained standing, still without a single wound on him. Instead, the reaper watched in shock at the boy who merely stood in front of him, holding out a shield created by light. "Destello..."

Sol grimaced at the reaper with an intense, penetrating gaze. "Don't misconstrue my actions, Blade."

The reaper chuckled. "Then why did you protect me? Haha..." Expecting no reply, Blade simply pushed Sol aside and picked his scythe up. He looked down on the grounded Diabel, who remained helpless in the eyes of the reaper. "Oh, how much I want to kill you right now."

Before Blade was able to bring his weapon down on the man, Bliss quickly ran in front of him, defending her fellow servant. "Don't kill him..."

Blade laughed at her desperate and childish request. "Really, now? Do you really think I'll do that?! Hah! What a joke."

Arcane's footsteps slowly approached them, but despite his servants' conditions, he still was able to keep his sly grin. "Very good, reaper...Very nice, Light..." Arcane stepped beside both Bliss and Diabel, enveloping them both within his green shield. "Looks like you've become more trouble than you're worth, boy."

"What are you talking about?" Sol asked, letting his guard down. The aura of the Light that surrounded him faded away as he concentrated mainly on the strange man standing within the green orb.

Arcane smirked. "Why don't I introduce myself again, this time with my two servants?" He set a hand on Bliss's head and chuckled. "This is Bliss, a younger girl...She's always been so cute, but she acts so hastily...I really do love her..." Walking towards Diabel, he set a hand on the giant's shoulder. "And this is Diabel. He's a brave man, willing to risk everything, even his life, in order to keep his own honor. He's been with me since the day I was born..."

Sol felt a sense of disgust at hearing him speak. "Just...what is this guy going on about?"

"And my name...is Arcane...better known as the man who created the Artifacts..."

The boy's eyes widened. "He what?!"

Arcane, noticing the shock that Sol was experiencing, snickered. "That's right...I'm the one who created them...and I was originally here to simply collect them...but...I guess things have changed." He raised his arms up and laughed. "Bliss...my younger sister...Diabel...my older brother..."

Sol's eyes expanded in complete surprise. "What?!...Sister? Brother?"

"Hahaha!" Arcane laughed loudly, bringing his arms down. "Yes! Yes! Years and years I've spent...trying to create the ultimate soldiers! Oh how successful I was! I love it!"

The boy's veins pumped quickly with rage and anger. "Why...Why would you do such a thing?!"

Blade shook his head. "I'm done listening...This is pointless." The reaper pulled his scythe back, but all of a sudden, his entire body froze in place. Despite constant struggling to move, he was unable to do so. "What?!" He looked beneath him and noticed a strange green chain that connected his feet with a strange item in Arcane's hand.

"Ah...Distractions truly are splendid," the man spoke. He set the strange item on the ground and laughed madly. "Haha! To think that I would have the use my special tool on you fools. The Locket is what I call it...It simply locks a target and spreads to anyone I wish. It's too bad that it breaks upon use...It doesn't matter though..."

Suddenly, the chain extended, reaching Sol's feet and went as far as taking Perel's feet. "Shit!" the trainer yelled, gritting her teeth as she watched powerlessly.

Arcane held his hand out, signaling for Bliss to act. The young girl's arm opened up, revealing a medium-length blade, which she handed over to her master. "Here you go, Master Arcane."

The man grabbed it and removed the cover, revealing a seemingly normal sword, but if one looked closely enough, a strange black aura shrouded the blade. "Haha...The Blade of Purification...It completely removes anything impure just by piercing it. Too bad it only has a single use as well. But still...one use is all I need because the Blade of Purification erases a human being completely. But remember, the Light itself is not impure, so...that means if I stab you with this sword, boy...your body will corrode away, leaving nothing but your Artifact." Arcane grinned, feeling utterly accomplished by his ultimate success. "I will then proceed to extract the artifact from you, Perel Henkan, and then my goals will finally be complete!"

Arcane dropped his book, which in turn disabled his seemingly impenetrable shield. He walked past Blade and towards Sol, who watched in stark fear as the blade closed in towards him. "Shit...Shit...Shit! Damn it!"

"Sol!" Cera screamed loudly, running straight towards the boy, but she knew that she wouldn't make it in time. "Don't kill him! Please!"

Arcane simply ignored her and prepared to thrust the Blade of Purification in Sol, but the firing of a gun threw him off guard. "Wha-"

"Watch out, Master!" Bliss yelled, quickly jumping forward and catching the bullet before it came into contact with Arcane's head. Surprised by the sudden assault, Arcane hurriedly ran back towards his book, recreating his shield.

"Who's there?!" he spoke, looking around, waiting for someone to appear.

A faint chuckle could be heard coming from behind one of the trees. "So it looks like I've finally got you caught, Arcane..." a strange voice spoke. His dark figure emerged from the shadows, stepping straight into the field. The clouds had finally covered the entirety of the skies, contributing to this man's strange presence.

Perel's eyes widened. "That's...the Black Wave! What's he doing here?"

Completely dressed in black clothing, the Black Wave seemed as if he blended in with the darkness that was beginning to enshroud the field. "Sembel...You can come out now."

Following behind the Black Wave was a young, pretty maid. Her sudden appearance surprised those who knew her. "Please don't misunderstand..." she thought to herself.

Sol's eyes wavered. "Sembel...What's she..."

Arcane watched them carefully, unable to decide on what to do next. "This man...It seems...It seems like I know him but..."

The Black Wave chuckled. His laugh was muffled by his metal mask, but there was no doubt that the sound remained familiar to many of the people present. "I know what you're all thinking right now..."

Blade narrowed his eyes on the Black Wave, but he then suddenly came to a realization. "Of course...There's no other person that could hide behind a guise and remain hidden for so long."

Sol overheard Blade's words and then looked at Perel, who looked as if she knew as well.

"Oh no...It couldn't be...There's no way," Perel spoke to herself.

The Black Wave grabbed onto his mask. "I've been at large for too long...But it's time..." Slowly, he pulled it off and handed it to Sembel standing beside him. He raised his head, revealing the man's black hair and the whole of his face. But what stunned everyone the most was the pair of shades that remained on his head.

Cera's eyes widened. "Oh my God...Ryan?!"

Sol shared the same thoughts. "Ryan?! What the hell?!...What's going on?!"

Arcane continued to watch the man, as did his servants. "What...Who are you?"

Ryan grinned. "Hmph...Who am I? Who am I?!" the blind man spoke. "Of course...Of course you wouldn't know...Not with these glasses on anyways...Even though I've exposed the identity of the Black Wave as myself...I guess it looks like I'm still not revealing the full truth yet, am I?"

Perel struggled to escape Arcane's trap. "No! Don't! You promised, Ryan! You promised not to!" she yelled loudly.

"Hmph...It looks like the old him is back..." Blade mumbled, closing his eyes with a grin.

"What are you talking about, Blade?! What's happening?!" Sol asked, desperately wanting to be filled in on the situation.

Blade chuckled cynically. "Take a good long look at the blind man you once called an ally...Take this one final glance at him."

"Everything he says is a lie," the fortune teller stated.

After a short wait, Ryan put his hands on his glasses and slowly removed them. Once he took them off, he simply dropped the pair of shades on the ground. His eyes remained shut as he began to speak. "Recognize this face, Arcane? If you don't...remember it as the one that will destroy you. My name is no longer Ryan...and was never Ryan. My name..." The once-blind man opened his eyes, revealing their odd colors, and smirked. "My name is Ruen...Ruen Henkan."

However, Ruen, once Ryan, possessed several strangely recognizable traits in Sol's eyes. Black hair. A light blue left eye. A green right eye. A face that was all too familiar to Sol.

vvvvvvv

Restart will be going on hiatus for a while, since I'm going to have to brainstorm the plot that follows this scene.

I hope you've enjoyed this series so far though!

I'm going to upload a new story called Renegade soon.

I've learned a lot from the reviews and through my experiences writing chapters, and I hope that with this new story, I can actually surpass the success that Restart was.

Thanks for all the support everyone! And I'm sorry to have to put Restart off for a bit! XD