Honor's massive frame shuddered. The deathly aura surrounding him flickered, black and grey waves dissipating like smoke in the wind. His amber eyes behind the wyvern helm dulled from blazing intensity to normal glow.

The berserker state that had consumed him retreated as his Beast Spirit, Thanatos, pulled back from full manifestation.

His consciousness returned fully, and the burning of souls ceased, not by choice but by force. His body had reached its limit, refusing to continue the self-immolation despite his will demanding otherwise.

Both swords remained embedded in his chest. Zenuken and Hjorleifa pierced through spiritual armor, through flesh, through the heart muscle itself. Crimson-black blood welled around the blades, dripping down his torso in steady streams.

"You..." The word emerged strained, forced through lungs that struggled around punctured organs. His gaze was fixed on Reinhard's face inches away. "Knew that I was still connected."

Reinhard's light blue eyes met those amber pools without flinching. His hands remained gripped on both sword hilts, knuckles white from pressure.

"I see." Honor's voice carried something approaching respect despite the pain. "So it was bait for me to use it and then get close."

Reinhard nodded slowly. "We couldn't win if I didn't go so far." He slightly frowned as his brows furrowed. "And I noticed how impatient you were as you went so far to burn your soul-"

"Which made my judgment lapse." Honor finished the statement, his tone shifting to self-recrimination. "How foolish of me."

Reinhard squeezed his weapons harder.

The blades shifted slightly in Honor's chest, drawing fresh blood. Around them, the others began rising. Marie pushed herself up from the crater with hair covered with blood and dust. Joseph clutched his dislocated shoulder, forcing the joint back into place with an audible pop. Amiya and Janus helped each other stand, their combined weight barely keeping them upright. Veryn emerged from the collapsed building debris, rocks falling from her white robes.

They stared at Honor with expressions ranging across the spectrum. Marie's light-gold eyes showed pain and regret, Joseph's green gaze carried grim determination. Amiya and Janus displayed shock mixed with exhaustion. Veryn's purple slitted pupils held tears that refused to fall.

Honor's helm tilted slightly, blood dripping from beneath its edge. "But I can't stop here."

His hand shot up.

Fingers wrapped around Reinhard's throat with strength that shouldn't exist in someone with two swords through their heart. The grip tightened immediately, crushing the windpipe and cutting off air completely.

A black aura surrounded his hand. Dissipate activated, the weathering effect that drained life and turned matter to dust. The ability flowed directly into Reinhard's neck, where Honor's palm pressed against flesh.

Reinhard's spiritual armor flared desperately. The invisible protection burned through magic reserves at a catastrophic rate, fighting to prevent weathering from reaching actual tissue. His eyes widened as the sensation of life being drained registered, not pain exactly, but absence, the feeling of existence itself being siphoned away.

"No!" Marie's scream cut through the moment.

Everyone moved simultaneously. Longinus thrust forward with golden-white light. Arondight drove from the flank with elemental fury. Amiya and Janus attacked from opposite sides. Veryn's light beams rained down from above.

Every attack struck Honor's body.

Spears pierced through his sides.

Lance punctured his back.

Claws raked across his torso.

Light beams burned into his shoulders.

Honor didn't release his grip.

His other hand moved past Reinhard's desperate thrashing, reaching toward the pocket where the Star Jewel rested. Fingers closed around the golden orb despite continued assault from every direction.

Reinhard's vision began darkening at the edges, and his lungs screamed for air that couldn't come. His spiritual armor flickered, magic reserves dropping toward critical levels.

Blue ripples swept from beneath his feet.

Drasil Step activated through sheer desperation. Time crawled as Reinhard moved at normal speed within the slowed world. His hands pulled both swords free from Honor's chest—the blades sliding out with resistance, with blood following, spraying in slow-motion arc.

He hacked out.

Hjorleifa descended in an overhead chop that struck Honor's extended arm. The blade cut through spiritual armor, through flesh, through bone.

Reinhard did this once, twice, and three times. Desperation drove each strike, no technique, no precision, just a frantic chopping motion repeated over and over.

Four strikes, five strikes, then six strikes, and finally seven strikes.

Time returned to normal.

Honor's arm separated at the elbow. The severed limb fell away, tumbling through the air before striking the ground with a wet thump.

But the hand remained.

Reinhard stumbled backward, gasping for air through his throat, still trapped in a death grip. His fingers clawed at the severed hand wrapped around his neck. The fingers didn't loosen, they continued squeezing with strength that defied being disconnected from the body.

Horror registered across his features as he stared at the dismembered limb choking him.

"Even if you cut me apart." Honor's voice resonated despite blood pouring from his chest wound and severed arm. "My body won't stop. Even if you pierced my heart, my body won't stop."

Damn it, what type of Beast Sigil is that!

The Fenrir symbol flared on Reinhard's right hand.

His eyes transformed, three diamond pupils expanding in blazing gold. Golden-black markings crawled up his arms, and power flooded through him as the transformation completed.

Sinner Reflect!

The massive eye materialized behind Reinhard. Screams of terror erupted, roars of bestial rage, crying pleas for mercy, desperate begging for release. The cacophony of Mensis Town's amalgamated souls crashed into Honor's consciousness.

The massive warrior froze for a single couple of seconds. His helm shook as the stunning effect disrupted concentration.

Ursa Suppression!

The Bear-Terror's roar burst from Reinhard's throat, amplified through Fenrir's power. Visible sound waves exploded outward, each ring carrying a freezing effect that struck Honor's severed hand still gripping Reinhard's throat.

The fingers loosened slightly, enough for Reinhard to wedge his own hands between palm and neck. He pulled desperately, creating a gap that allowed a thin stream of air before he quickly switched to Odin.

Gravity Step!

His foot came down.

Purple-black energy erupted, spreading across the ground in rippling waves. The gravity well formed instantly, centered on Reinhard's position.

Everything nearby was drawn inward, debris, fragments, and the severed hand. The gravitational pull compressed everything toward the center, then reversed violently. The push phase sent everything flying outward with equal force, even the stunned Honor was sent flying away.

The hand tore away from Reinhard's throat completely.

He collapsed to his knees, gasping desperately. His throat showed angry red markings where Dissipate had weathered skin despite the spiritual armor's protection. Dark bruises formed around the impressions of five fingers.

But then someone tapped into the Herald Mark.

Reinhard's enhanced senses registered it instantly, magic flowing from the necklace around his neck as another user activated a stored skill. His three-pupil eyes widened with realization half a second before.

A hand pressed against his face.

Not the severed one.

Honor's remaining hand, utilizing Drasil Step, pulled through a shared connection to cross the distance in slowed time.

The massive warrior smashed Reinhard into the ground. His palm drove Reinhard's head down with force that created a crater before swiftly pulling Reinhard back up and driving down again. Each impact drives deeper, sending shockwaves through the root fragment beneath.

On the third strike, Honor's fingers found the Star Jewel, and he ripped it from Reinhard's pocket. The golden orb came free, metal claws catching light as Honor lifted it clear.

Reinhard coughed as blood sprayed from his mouth, painting Honor's black armor with crimson. His vision swam, concussion from repeated impacts making everything blur and split while hearing Honor moving away.

Through failing sight, he registered Honor turning away.

The others' attacks arrived simultaneously. Marie's spear struck Honor's back with golden-white devastation.

Joseph's elemental spiral crashed into his side. Amiya and Janus's combined assault punctured his legs. Veryn's light beam rain descended like judgment from above.

Crimson-black blood exploded from dozens of new wounds. Honor's armor shattered completely, black plates falling away in fragments. Holes appeared in his body where attacks had punched completely through.

His remaining arm showed bone through torn flesh, and his legs barely supported his weight.

But he didn't fall.

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