CH. 115 - The Fight Ends

“STOP!” a girl’s voice screams out. The spike suddenly stops, but he doesn’t remove his gaze from Shiori. A bit away from them, Alice stands with a terrified look as she stares at them. “Yo-you want to kill someone weak? Kill me, not her. Sh-she’s so much stronger than me even like that.” Alice stutters and shakes in fear as she motions to herself then Shiori before lifting her hands up. “I-I-If I die right here and now, no one will c-care so c-come take my life instead. I’m a pathetic little weakling who couldn’t do anything to-”

Before she can finish what she says, a spike shoots through the air with blitzing speed. Alice suddenly stops as her eyes widen and her body stiffens. She starts to shake as she turns her head to look at her hand to see a hole straight through it. Her eyes tremble as tears begin forming. Her knees buckle a bit as she sweats and cries in fear. Ben grunts and squints his eyes in frustration as he drops Shiori. She hits the ground with a thud before looking up at Alice.

“Alice.. no. please…” Shiori says weakly, trying to move. Ben turns to face her as Alice snaps her head back to look at him. He sniffs the air just a bit before looking at Alice, pausing for a moment. 

‘I’m… going to die.’ She thinks as her whole body shakes with terror. Hikigaya lifts his body up just a bit as blood drips from his mouth in concerning amounts. He looks up at her with desperation in his eyes, struggling to move as his shaky hand grabs the spike in his chest. 

‘Come on… move..!’ he thinks as he struggles to recover from the multiple stab wounds in his body.

The events that follow all happen in a matter of seconds, if not less. Alice barely stands with her whole body trembling as Ben forms a rail spike in the palm of his hand. As he pulls his arm back, spike in hand, preparing to shoot it at her, someone comes running their way. In that same moment, Shiori’s desperation ignites her powers, forcing bright silver energy to flow through her hands and legs, forcing her to her feet as she bolts in Alice’s direction. Hikigaya grits his teeth as the same feeling overcomes him. He rips the spike from his stomach and scrambles to his feet, dashing her way. Alice can do nothing but watch as the spike flies through the air heading straight for her chest.

But as she stares, suddenly her vision starts to fall over. She doesn’t even realize the reason she’s falling over until she hits the ground on her back, her eyes fixated on one thing. Chizuru. She watches as Chizuru shoves her out of the way before turning and lifting her hands to both Shiori and Hikigaya as if telling them to stop, shouting something but Alice can’t hear anything. Alice watches as Shiori dives in front of Chizuru, ignoring her cries, and as Hikigaya dives only fractions of a second behind as he reaches out for the spike, trying to stop it before it can do anything to anyone. Hikigaya stares, his eyes fixated on the spike right in front of him, his arm extending out as he reaches so desperately for it.

‘I won’t fail! Not again! I won’t! I-’ he thinks as he grabs the spike. But he can’t feel it. His eyes widen as the spike continues past his grasp, so near yet out of reach. It continues its path right into Shiori’s side, in the same place she was once stabbed before, as she grits her teeth from the stabbing sensation. She begins to fall back from the piercing attack, but as she does, her eyes widen as she looks over her shoulder. In that instance, no amount of fear, horror, and regret could account for what she felt as she watches the spike continue through her body and into Chizuru’s. Chizuru’s eyes wide with shock and confusion as she stares directly at Shiori before all four of them collapse on the ground.

Samuel covers her mouth in terror as a few classmates scream. Ben stands there watching them as they hit the ground. Hikigaya quickly gets up and looks over with terrified eyes. His eyes shake as he watches in disbelief. Shiori hits the ground on her back first as blood pours from her mouth from the injury she just received. Despite this, she immediately flips over and begins clawing her way towards Chizuru.

“No.. No, not again..” She says through drowned words from the blood pooling in her throat, begging for Chizuru’s life as she bleeds out. Ben watches them as Hikigaya’s hands tremble progressively worse as his breathing deepens. He chokes on his words as he grabs his head.

“Fuck.. Fuck!! FUCK!!!” he screams, seeing Chizuru before him, then his sister in his arms. He tightens his body as he screams. “JUST DIE ALREADY!!” he screams before turning and extending his arm back and grabbing Ben’s throat with extreme force. Blood spurts out of his mouth from just his grasp as Hikigaya flies at him with intense speed. Ben quickly forms a long spike and readies to impale him, but Hikigaya simply runs the spike through his palm before latching onto Ben’s fist and clenching. He completely shatters the spike and crushes Ben’s hand and wrist, spilling his blood all over the ground as he pulverizes Ben’s hand. Ben shouts in pain as Hikigaya continues to scream at him, not letting go of his neck, before launching them both towards the mountainside with godly levels of force.

Shiori crawls to Chizuru and pushes herself up. Chizuru squeaks and whimpers, crying, but her voice won’t come out as blood begins to spill from her mouth as well. Her hands shake intensely as she tries to lift her arms, but her left hand falls limp. Shiori hastily examines her body before a glowing gold energy forms around her hands. She coughs up blood as the energy fades before returning as Shiori struggles to stay upright and conscious from the hole in her body. Alice quickly rushes to their side, holding her injured hand close to her chest while grabbing Shiori’s shoulder with the other.

“Shiori! Shiori, you have to heal yourself first!” Alice says, panicking. Focusing on Chizuru, Shiori doesn’t react to Alice’s words. “If you die, she dies!” Alice says desperately. Shiori looks at Alice with desperation filled eyes. She goes to say something, but only more blood spills from her mouth as she chokes, coughing up more blood. “I know, I know!” Alice says with fear, worry, and desperation lining her every word, tears rolling down her face.

Chizuru, despite shaking and panicking, taps Shiori’s leg gently as if telling her it’s okay. Shiori shuts her eyes tightly with confliction before slamming her hand on her injured side. Chizuru coughs and whimpers as Alice takes her hand tightly, trying to offer any comfort she can. Samuel rushes out as sirens and lights flash behind her. Emergency responders come rushing out of their vehicles and to the scene as the class comes out of hiding too.

Sugawara holds Haru and his broken arm as Lucy and Ryuji help keep Touma standing. Touma looks over and sees Chizuru as his eyes grow wide. He forcibly pulls away from Lucy and Ryuji and rushes to her, but within a couple steps, everything spins as his eyes roll back and he collapses forward to the ground. 

“Touma! You have to stop, you need help!” Lucy says with worry on her face as she crouches down and holds Touma. Tears roll down Touma’s face as he lays face first in the dirt. 

“Over here! Hurry, please!” Alice screams as the field medics rush to her side. Samuel grabs Alice by the shoulder gently before pulling her away from them. 

“Come on, we have to get out of their way.” Samuel says with a soft voice, holding Alice close to her, comforting her. Alice begins to cry out before turning into Samuel’s embrace, holding onto her shirt tightly. 

“It’s okay, we got you.” A medic says to Shiori softly before sharply looking back. “-We need another medic over here!- We got her. The other medic is gonna get you looked at, okay?” He says to Shiori as she shakes her head.

“N..no.” She says with a muffled, broken voice from the blood in her throat as the glowing from her hand increases. Shiori pushes herself harder to the point smoke and burning comes from her wound as she winces in pain. “I can help.” She says, forcing her body to recover at an unhealthy rate. The moment she thinks she’s fine enough, she quickly removes her hand from her side and places it on Chizuru’s body. The medic is shocked to see Chizuru’s wound heal ever so slightly but understands.

“Okay.” he says softly before getting to work as well with a concerned look.

Ben goes flying through the air, smashing through trees and branches, hurdling at blistering speeds before slamming back first into a cliff side. The stone wall caves in as he bounces off, blood flying from his head and mouth as he chokes on the pain. He hits the ground on his feet despite this, as his body creaks and snaps from the impact. He grunts and strains as he tries to hold himself up. The approaching sound of violence is heard as he snaps his head up, only for a screaming Hikigaya to grab his face and slam his head back into the stone wall, cracking the very mountain. He lets Ben’s face go as he begins to fall down, but Hikigaya doesn’t stop.

He slams his boot into Ben’s face, crushing his head into the wall before pulling back and slamming his fist across his face. Hikigaya then grabs his head by the side of his face and repeatedly slams Ben’s head into the stone wall. Not giving himself a chance to stop and think, Hikigaya attacks viciously, doing all he can to murder this man. In an attempt to interrupt the onslaught, Ben shoots a spike straight into Hikigaya's stomach. The attack does stop, but it’s only followed by Hikigaya grabbing Ben by the neck and launching him over his shoulder. Ben flies through the air, slamming into trees as he goes until he grabs onto the ground, sliding himself to a stop. He holds his broken wrist back before lifting his good arm and forming a long rail spike in his hand. He pulls it back like a javelin as Hikigaya stomps his way. Ben launches the spike with intense force as Hikigaya pulls his bone covered fist back, ready to plow straight through it, but the spike continues, completely tearing Hikigaya’s right arm apart. Blood sprays out, but Hikigaya doesn’t flinch.

He slams his foot down before firing his left fist into Ben’s stomach, blasting heavy force into him. Hikigaya then uppercuts him before backfisting him, sending him slamming into a tree. Ben grunts as he focuses and sharply avoids another punch, extending and slamming into the tree. Ben acts quickly and punches up into Hikigaya’s elbow, snapping his arm before yanking him forward and stabbing a rail spike into his back. Hikigaya stops for a second, but only long enough to allow Ben a sharp breath in before Hikigaya turns and grabs him by the neck again. In response, Ben stabs a spike into Hikigaya’s jaw from below. Hikigaya doesn’t care though as he chomps down and crushes the spike to bits. Ben is shocked as Hikigaya screams and extends his arm out, blasting Ben through the forest, tearing it up using Ben’s body to do so before he slams him into a large boulder. Ben falls as Hikigaya pulls his arm back, broken and twisted, before charging Ben once again. Ben stands for a moment before his knee buckles, causing him to almost fall over. He looks down with a surprised look before glaring at Hikigaya charging him.

“I’m over this.” he says intensely. Hikigaya screams as he reaches out for him one more time, but before he can do anything, Ben lifts his fists into the air and slams them down into the ground. In an instant, multiple spikes of varying sizes come jetting out of the ground and stabbing into Hikigaya repeatedly. Finally stopping him, Hikigaya looks shocked and his eyes empty as he’s held above the ground, his blood spilling all over the floor. He stares at Ben before his head goes limp and falls down. Ben stands up with a grunt, barely able to do just that, as he stares at Hikigaya’s unconscious body.

“You. Your life. Has no more value.. For your strength. I will go back and finish what I-”

As he speaks, suddenly Hikigaya’s blood on the ground instantly hardens and shoots out multiple spikes in his direction, impaling and cutting Ben multiple times across his body, stunning him. He stumbles back as his legs struggle to keep him upright. He grunts in pain and struggles to stay conscious as he leans against the boulder behind him.

“I hate your kind.” he says, still stunned and almost confused before quickly jumping high and far away from Hikigaya, leaving him there as his eyes drop and blood slowly spills from his mouth. 

Back with Chizuru, the medic works to stabilize her and prep her for transport as Shiori strains her Healing Aura over Chizuru. She sweats and struggles in pain as the glow fades and flickers. 

‘Please.. Please work..’ she thinks as she strains against her own injuries and fatigue to help save her friend. She watches Chizuru’s injuries as doubt slowly begins to spread across her face. ‘It’s not.. getting better..’

Tears well in her eyes as she tries and tries, before suddenly, a huge crash is heard behind them. Everyone looks up in shock to see a large figure in the smoke. Ben lands on all fours, struggling, but standing up from the destroyed ground where he just landed. Everyone’s eyes show terror and fear as he stands before them.

“Hikigaya..? He…” Sugawara says as anxiety fills his eyes.

“No.. no way..” Lucy says in disbelief. Ben ignores everyone else and takes one step in Chizuru’s direction before instantly being hit by an intense beam of flame. Shiori struggles on the ground to heal Chizuru with one hand and blasting Ben back with the other. He puts his arms up to block the intense flames but continues to stomp towards her slowly. She grits her teeth as she doesn’t give up.

“Come on! Put him down!” An officer shouts as the four peace officers pull out their weapons and begin blasting the prisoner as well. Despite the assault, he continues towards them. Samuel covers herself with her arm while holding Alice tightly with the other. Alice watches as her eyes shake, filled with desperation and intensity unidentified.

“Stop..” she says under her breath. The officers get between Ben and Shiori in an attempt to protect her, only for one to get backhanded away, and another is stabbed through the chest. “Leave us alone..” Alice says quietly as Shiori turns her whole body towards him and uses both of her hands to blast the fire. The increase in intensity causes Ben to stop for only a moment, but he continues to take slow steps towards her until he is almost right in front of them. Shiori strains her beaten soul harder than ever before to stop him and save her friend. As she does, a crack of thunder sounds in the distant sky. In an act of impulse, Alice shoves Samuel away and rushes to Shiori’s side with an angry, scared, and stress filled look on her face.

“GO AWAY!!” she screams as she shoves her hands forward. Suddenly, a vortex forms in the sky. Fueled by lightning, heavy shards of ice and suffocating winds, it jets down towards her before directing towards Ben. Combining with Shiori’s flames, the condensed storm slams into Ben, instantly pushing him back a bit. He struggles against the powerful forces, but Alice and Shiori continue blasting him with all their might, pushing him back further and further until he can no longer keep his guard. His arms are pushed back before he lets out a shout of frustration and pain. He’s lifted off the ground then in a moment, sent flying through the air at extreme speeds, sending him off past the mountain range, far, far away. 

The girls stand there for a moment, letting the sound of silence overtake them as their storm dissipates just as fast as it came. Alice stands with her arms out, sweating and panting before her arms drop to her sides and her eyes roll back. She collapses over, passing out from the sudden act. Shiori struggles to breathe as she instinctively holds her arms close to her body, both now burnt and broken. Her vision blurs as she wobbles, her body no longer able to support her. She looks at Alice on the ground next to her.

‘Alice… Hikigaya… Chizuru…’ she thinks as she turns to look back at Chizuru, trying to reach her, but there is nothing more she can do. ‘I ha.. have to help them… I need..’ she thinks before collapsing to the ground on her side. She tries to lift her limp hand towards Chizuru’s one last time. “Chizu..”

She tries to say but the blood in her throat muffles her words before she can no longer keep herself conscious. Multiple bones broken, burns and bruises all over her body as she bleeds openly from her wounds. As she lies there, her vision fades in and out, giving her nothing more than brief images of her surroundings.

She sees the EMS officers rush back to their side as Samuel and the others try to do the same before being stopped by other officers, then it fades to darkness again. She sees a medical helicopter lower above them as Chizuru is taken away with them before it fades again. Fading in and out of weak consciousness, she sees herself being rolled away on a stretcher towards one of the multiple medical vans on site. She lets her head fall over to see Hikigaya passed out on a stretcher next to her, heading towards a different van.

“How is this guy even alive?..” She hears softly and muffled through the ringing of her own ears before she lets herself be taken away by both medical responders and her body.