"Strange, why did it let this one fall? Of all the clone bodies purged of life force and this is the only one abandoned by gravity."

  He analysed his surroundings, suspicion and a feeling of trepidation taking root in his heart. And a thought emerged to him, if this really was an attack then the target was obvious. In the next moment Vazpin sprang himself on a rune platform and shot straight down. Him diving was faster than moving from one platform to another no doubt. He entered the dust cloud and could finally feel a fifth presence similar to his own.

  "Damn it. Did it see through our strategy... no, this shouldn't be the case. It wasn't a preplanned one, to respond so quickly our strategy must have simply aligned with what it was scheming."

  He said through gritted teeth while he quickly approached from above.

  Faced with the sudden danger the Rune King wasn't as panicked as the others as though he wasn't even the target. And when the attack almost reached him a rune was activated, before him and the fragment clone a golem materialised.

  Clang!

  The humanoid clone's thrust slowed as it pierced through the rune golem, this one looked like the Rune King, naturally despite its looks it wasn't made of flesh thus it had defense matching that of a battle ship.

  "Kill, kill..kill!"

  The humanoid clone let out a crazed scream, it wasn't deterred, instead continuing with its attacks and brought its other bladed arm slashing diagonally. The Rune King golem stood no chance and was bisected. This time the Rune King also felt extremely grave but his actions remained calm while he continued to retreat. The Vazpin golem also stepped up to block but was effortlessly cut down as well.

  (Not a rune grandmaster threat but still closer to it than it is comparable to masters like myself. Even as one we won't be its match.)

  Swoosh!

  Vazpin who just arrived flew before it from above, he was upside down. He blocked its charge however much his position allowed, he kicked at one of its arms, it was redirected but his position became even more awkward and vulnerable to its attacks. He braced himself while a second thrust came, piercing right beside his shoulder. He silently groaned but with this slight save and sacrifice the others were alreaddy on the move, attacking relentlessly while he was pulled back.

  Several binding runes pulled Vazpin back as Oldomus and the king stepped forward along with the first rune master. Each wielding their respective weapons.

  Slash, slash!

  The king rushed in with his sword, and for every pause he took in between his attacks Oldomus stepped in.

  Bam, bam.

  He punched and kicked, wielding his body better than most could a sword or spear. Each strike from him resulted in chunks of earth breaking off it and flying in every direction. Apparently it was quite strong but not as durable, a surprise to the squad but a welcome one.

  No one said a thing as they attacked, to people like them with great experience, coordination and understanding came like they shared one mind. And right now they all arrived at one conclusion, against a strong opponent when escape isn't an option the best approach was to not give them a chance to attack in the first place. Thus their attacks came unceasingly, even Oldomus who was already spent barely took pauses between strikes.

  As for Vazpin, the second rune master remained by his side applying what healing he could with his runes. At present he looked like a goner, the humanoid clone's bladed hand was still a hand as such the wound was quite spacious. It left a gaping wound with a width of two to three arms, the ribs were broken stabbing into the flesh some pointing inward others outward. His lung was beyond salvageable. His breathes were shallow and increasingly infrequent as blood continued to float out. The second rune master took out a healing rune, the last one. When used all it managed to accomplish was heal him by nearly half before it broke.

  "As the weakest I understand staying behind but I'm not the most proficient in terms of healing and without a healing rune it'll take time."

  He said with churning thoughts, as it stood there was no chance of the three of them coming out on top, wise. As such his efforts of healing Vazpin would be better spent helping them resist, if they lost they would all die. On the other hand if they held on long enough that Vazpin was healed to rejoin the fight it would be a five versus one better than joining preemptively.

  (But whether it's three, four or five will it make a difference?)

  Seeing himself getting distracted he dismissed his thoughts focusing on his given task, his eyes becoming sharp and focused.

  The less his mind wandered the faster he would be able to heal Vazpin. But as fast as he became, for a battlefield it was not fast enough, plus the unfamiliar environmental conditions made the situation all the more troublesome. The only fortunate thing about where they were was, there was no contamination. Even the floating blood could still be used if necessary.

  "What have you done!"

  The humanoid clone asked in confusion and fright.

  They were all unsure as to why it suddenly acted this way but in the next moment they noticed it. The ground was rising.

  "Could it be, it's not responsible for this?"

  "Don't get distracted continue to attack, how can it not be the cause of this, it is merely trying to make us lose focus. The slightest misstep can lead to death for us all."

  Said the Rune King almost reprimanding his fellow master. Like that they ignored the ground and continued their assault, for some time now the ground was no longer relevant to them, the fragment had made sure of that earlier. How could this change bother them, it could turn into a sea of lava or toxic poison for all they care.

  Slash.

  A bit of its face was chopped off with only about two thirds remaining. But the king neither pursued further nor did it fall down dead.

  "Oldomus I believe the time is now."

  Said the king, in all this time they were not aimlessly pushing it back but also creating an opening to find and strike at its life force. Oldomus rushed in taking the place of the Rune King, his fists came fast even creating several after images of his fists raining down on the humanoid clone.

  Bam, bam, bam.

  He struck repeatedly, pulverizing its abdominal area, fragments nearing the size of a thumb flew off in different directions as cracks spread across its body. Finally the last punch came dug deep into its abdomen, after striking Oldomus quickly withdrew his hand before it could retaliat. But as the fist was withdrawn it left something behind, the rune of life force expulsion. Like the others before it this body too had its life force expelled and would become lifeless.

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  "Curses ..."

  Oldomus exclaimed taking a few steps back, just af he activated the rune and life force was expelled another center of life force appeared while the engraved area was discarded, with this the clone stayed alive.

  Fwoosh.

  The discarded piece was turned into a earth bullet and shot out towards Oldomus, but the first rune master pushed him aside taking brunt of the attack. The spike bullet had enough force that he was sent back quite some feet, while the ground that had risen up to their waist doing nothing to stop or slow him down.

  "Foolish junior, why!"

  He exclaimed while pouncing on the clone with a barrage of attacks.

  "It has been an honor to...cough"

  The first rune master forced out before coughing out a mouthful of blood while his eyes rolled showing their whites.

  (Forget reason, do I even have the luxury to wonder.)

  He thought fighting back the urge to pause, his body repeatedly giving signals that he had entered dangerous territory of going passed one's limit.

  "We have no chance of winning but 'we' can't retreat."

  Oldomus said the obvious, while he continued to maneuver beside the Rune King as they used their collective might to divert an attack.

  "You are right but what you are implying isn't possible. Did you forget I'm the target."

  "How do you know I don't mean for I alone to retreat?"

  He asked his expression showing an unwavering smile, he had accepted he would die here but he did not despair. He wasn't a warrior but faced with such a difficulty he would rather go down fighting.

  "Then I don't know you."

  The Rune King said plainly, he knew Oldomus and understood in this hopeless situation he wanted to hold back the humanoid clone while the Rune King retreats. And Oldomus also understood the Rune King so he gave in, arguing between themselves now would only benefit the humanoid clone.

  To have their view unobstructed they continued to rise staying outside the ground that had turned strange. Although this clone could not fly with gravity's help it followed after them without fail.

  The two charged attacking side by side, the Rune King slashed at the clone, but when the sword made contact its body turned into lava. The sword sunk in just as it was about to be retracted the clone solidified, trapping the sword. Oldomus moved to divert its strikes when it attacked with what they least expected, a breath attack. Its mouth opened wide and a torrent of lava spewed out.

  Both were violently pushed back leaving behind their rune platforms. This single attack though spread out and not concentrated, the wounds it caused were severe. Even their protective rune could not resist all the heat, their bodies were covered in burns. Oldomus who was the better of them had his arms that served to block, scorched, the surface flesh into charred black. It was about to pounce on the Rune King and finish him off when a bolt of lightning crackled past it after it narrowly evaded thanks to being alerted by the brightness. It turned around to look at the source and saw Akarn's royal battle ship.

  (Just them, can they stop me.)

  It let out a beastly deafening roar that did not suit its current form, a declaration of its might. After its roar it returned its focus on the Rune King about to pounce before stopping dead in its tracks.

  (It's him, the otherworlder. Wasn't he dead?)

  It wondered as a feeling of dread overcame it, its eyes followed Hiro while he collected the Rune King, Oldomus and the rest. A seemingly unmatched power surrounded him, its source a sword with a golden radiance bathing Hiro and the Rune King's squad. Their injuries healed at an observable rate, matching even the fragment's ability to mend its clone bodies. Seeing this display it guessed.

  "So it was you."

  Sometime before, Akarn's royal battle ship, less than three minutes after Hiro died.

  Somewhere in between Jura's squad had returned on the battle ship. The revelation of their loss was quite shocking but this was just the start, most squads that were achieving victory after victory against the clone bodies were suddenly besieged. Not many died but most were forced to retreat, regrouping at any of the scattered battle ships.

  (What is going, for this to happen now of all times.)

  Aleus thought slightly anxious at the recent developments. He was back on the ship after the returnees started to fight along the battle ships. Maybe if there was no Hiro he would still continue fighting but right now his aid wasn't as necessary as before, at least against what they were presently fighting.

  He continued to handle the ships matters assessing all the information coming his way until finally Hiro opened his eyes.

  "How long was I dead?"

  Asked Hiro immediately after coming back to life. While analysing the ship he knew it was less than five minutes seeing as the slash remained and it was made to activate after five minutes and two seconds.

  "Three minutes and forty five seconds"

  Aleus answered, holding himself back from asking if it really was him. A person dying and coming back to life wasn't the norm, not even with the power of life force in their hands, it was simply far from being enough.

  "Good. Wait no, is it possible to make a painting world to contain everyone here?"

  "Yes, but I can't make one right now. You see while you were dead the situation..."

  Aleus began to explain, accounting everything he had been told in as much detail as time allowed.

  "I see."

  Hiro said plainly, his expression solemn.

  (So much has changed in just a short time, this is no coincidence. The fragment must have been putting some emphasis on me despite having dealt nearly zero damage to its true self. It seems I underestimated its perception of my threat level to it.)

  Even with this knowledge Hiro felt he would still have made the same decision of using sacrifice but in a favourable case where those left to fight would be better prepared.

  "I understand the situation but it will soon become irrelevant. All battlefield will be abandoned, you know why. The forget the clone bodies, it's either the core or nothing."

  Aleus said nothing more, he understood. Since they had no way of reaching the core best destroy the moon whole and the core along with it. Hiro had even said so already but it was just something hard to swallow even when he knew it was possible.

  (Such terrifying power.)

  He thought already getting started on his painting. He moved fast getting the one he was in before and improving upon it, making it bigger and more colorful, even if it would work as just a container it had to appear appealing and welcoming.

  Hiro stood on the side, his focus on his thoughts. The die had been cast, now they just had to wait for the time it all happened but it was actually different from what Aleus had in mind.

  (Destroying the Moon is not enough, there simply has to be no physical unity remaining for me to fully be able to harm its true body. Or at least have as little of it as possible left during the final clash. But my slashes though precise they can't reduce the moon to nothing by merely cutting it into the smallest pieces possible which is why I had to use sacrifice. In exchange for my life the moon will fail at holding itself tightly.)

  There was such a thing as gravity that pulled things to the world, the world itself wasn't a single object so it stood to reason it was held together by something too. All Hiro had to do was cut the link between the moon and what ever was glueing every little object making the moon. From the big rocks, small rock, dust particles, all the way down.

  Soon Hiro's five minutes and two seconds were up. The slash moved and disappeared from their sight, in the next moment the moon began to expand. This came as a surprise to even Hiro himself, he expected everything to remain just the same only that the moon would lose its solidity becoming fluid perhaps even gas like. And he would be able to get to the core without obstacles and thanks to the nature of the moon at the time a flaw in containing life force would appear.

  "For better or worse this is what ended up with."

  He turned his attention to Aleus, the latter till painting. Time wasn't on their side the changes would bring confusion and disorganised movement for both sides.

  "You might want to hurry along. Even I don't know what'll happen from here on out."

  As things stood Hiro could not guess if what he did was good or bad, it was still in the early stages but once it was beyond this it was an area of total uncertainty.

  "It's not perfect but definitely usable."

  Aleus said doing the finishing touches on the painting.

  "I trust you can handle getting everyone inside."

  Aleus silently nodded while inspecting the painting one last time. Hiro continued while moving on to balance himself against the ship.

  "It's best we start with those struggling the most, just give me a moment I'll point us in the right direction."

  He gestured for them to wait as he closed his eyes and began to maximise his life sense and sight. He was already using these senses but now he was using them at max capacity, it was necessary.

  This was a battlefield involving the use of life force between the two sides thus without complete focus he wouldn't be able to grasp the exact situation of the numerous battlefields. But with his focus on the task it only took several moments before he was done. After opening his eyes he rushed to the front of the royal battle ship before he slashed space ahead of it.

  "I'm sure I don't have to say it but, we don't have time to waste. Charge through."

  Said Hiro, his expression complex while staring at Aleus. The latter and most others now had their gazes fixed towards the newly formed space tear, through it they could see the Rune King and co's desperate situation.

  (Father...)

  Aleus's expression paled, he looked pitiful but acted contrary to it. He took a bow nuked a lightning arrow rune tablet and released, before he moved on to steer the ship and charge through the space tear. Ignoring the daze, shock, fear and turmoil around him.