Standing above the 1 enemy that he’d failed to have revenge on and kill for over a century, the only scar in his career as an Ascended, finally having him at his mercy with his Odachi pointed at him, General Sylvari felt weird.

He once thought he was going to feel exhilarated. Afterall, this was the only blemish in his career as an Ascended.

This was the physical embodiment of his only failure, this was the only person that made him feel human since becoming a C Rank Ascended.

Not even other C Rank Ascended have ever made him feel the way he felt that night, not even Epsilon.

Afterall, as a C Rank Ascended, he had his own pride.

He respected the Director-Prime’s wisdom, but when it came to power, Sylvari had his own pride. Even if he could not win, he had the self confidence that no man in the world could kill him.

This was the pride and arrogance of a C Rank Ascended and yet, 131 years ago, a mere E Rank Mechanist broke his pride and brought him to his knees.

Staring down at him, General Sylvari did not feel exhilarated, he did not feel like torturing him either like he’d fantasized for decades.

Instead he grimaced, then he said coldly. "Pathetic".

He raised the great plasma Odachi, about to stab the Mechanist’s head finally to end his life and that was when Leon’s bloodshot eyes suddenly looked away from the General and focused on the sky.

Noticing this, General Sylvari paused and turned to look at the sky just in time to see the net that he spent over a hundred million Neo Credits erecting shatter!

’Huh?’

CRKSH!

The net of ghostly blue shattered like glass, and in its wake was...

"...!"

General Sylvari Charr didn’t think, his body reacted instinctively. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

His neon green ADE flared before violently erupting by instinct as he resumed the thrusting motion with the great plasma Odachi to end the Mechanist’s life, adding even more force and speed to it, but it was already too late as...

Ghost-in-the-Machine!

BZZZ!

One moment, the great plasma Odachi was mere inches away from stabbing Leon’s head and obliterating his brain, still moving with momentum, and the next moment the momentum of the Odachi suddenly died.

A fair hand filled with bulging veins grabbed the burning plasma blade of the Odachi and stopped it in its path, with bare hands!

Time froze.

General Sylvari Charr stared at those bare hands that were bleeding but somehow still managed to hold his burning plasma Odachi, killing its momentum completely in an obliterating grip.

He traced the hand up, noting the torso of a lean man in his physical prime wearing a black and green military uniform, flaunting the trademark colors of the Freegrid Collective.

He traced the torso up, and then he paused on a familiar face.

Curly silver hair that gleamed in the dim lighting of the approaching morning, emerald eyes that seemed to glow with bottomless dormant power.

This face, this man is... General Ren Nora!

BZZZZ!

C Rank ADE flared from both Generals instinctively at the same time, neon green on both sides, grinding against each other with tyrannical friction as the air instantly became charged with violent static electricity.

Emerald eyes stared into gray eyes, and time seemed to freeze.

At the last moment just before Leon’s journey would end in this world, having rushed halfway across the world here, General Ren Nora finally arrived.

Despite not being able to teleport here directly due to General Sylvari’s preparations, he still managed to arrive in record time, barely more than a minute after Leon shattered the wooden rod.

Still on the ground, drowning slowly in his own blood, Leon looked up at the 2 Generals with a stunned look on his face.

No one said a word, the wasteland suddenly became deathly silent like a grave as both Generals engaged in a tense stand-off.

Then calmly, Ren Nora said.

"Leon, move".

Leon didn’t need his reminder. Despite the pain that would have made any other man unconscious by now, he forced his dying body to move.

He turned on his belly and with his elbows, he crawled away from the 2 Generals as his premonition told him to get as far away as he could from them.

Fortunately, not all the Doom Rover v0.2s were destroyed as a heavily damaged Skirmisher Class rushed towards Leon the next moment before carrying him away from the vicinity of the 2 Generals.

Against all odds, Leon survived.

He survived back to back assaults, first a deadly ambush from a D Rank Fluxmancer who had a 100% kill rate till he met him, and then survived the assault of a C Rank Ascended!

This was unprecedented in the history of Neo-Tokara, but Leon was in too much pain to realize that he just made history.

Throughout as his damaged machine dragged him out, General Sylvari Charr didn’t even pay attention to him anymore as his eyes stayed fixated on the man that was now in front of him, still holding the blade edge of his Odachi.

The General’s gray eyes were narrow and intense, filled with bloodlust and deep suppressed emotions that he was slowly losing control of.

And then, like a breaking dam, it all shattered.

"Ren Nora!" He finally gritted his mechanical teeth and spat.

Calmly, Ren Nora answered and called. "Sylvari".

He stared the Federation General in the eye. "What do you say," he tilted his head, letting his long curly silver hair fall as the wind made them wave. "Let’s end this amicably like men?"

For a long time, General Sylvari didn’t answer as he just stared at Ren Nora, and then he gathered synthetic oil- spit in his mouth and spat at the General’s face.

"...!" Ren Nora froze.

He finally let go of General Sylvari’s Odachi and with his bleeding hand, he wiped the synthetic spit from his face.

He shrugged his shoulders and straightened his spine, then he stared straight at Sylvari.

Feeling the intensity of his glare, Sylvari laughed.

"Am I supposed to be scared?"

"Smug bastard, you think I’m scared of you?"

His mechanical lips curled up. "You really think I’m scared of you huh?"

"YOU THINK SO HUH?!" He roared in Ren Nora’s face.

And finally, the mask of composure that he’d maintained on his face for the past 1 minute finally crumbled as Sylvari’s mechanical face twisted with all the hatred and frustration of a century, making his face look hideous as it creaked from how much it contorted.

"BASTARDS!" He growled. "All of you, ARSEHOLES!"

"For over 100 years, they’ve told me to be calm".

"Sylvari, be calm, he said," he snarled. "Use your brain, he said".

"Think, he said".

"You don’t know the nature of his powers, you don’t know what truly comprises a Glitch".

"Well, f*ck the Glitch!"

He glared at Ren Nora. "I no longer give a damn!"

"I no longer give a f*ck about Epsilon’s plan!"

He looked the Geneform up and down and smirked with disdain written all over his face. "For over 100 years, I’ve tolerated your insolence only because Epsilon demanded so".

"You think I was really scared of you?"

"Well, I don’t need their help," his hideous mechanical face turned into a bestial snarl. "Today, I’m going to fight you and I’m going to kill you".

"I’m going to show the world that you’re a fraud".

"Glitch?" He smirked.

"Well, I’m a TYRANT B*TCH!"

He revealed a dark smile. "What did you say again, let’s end this amicably like men?" He tilted his head and pierced Ren Nora with a scathing glare.

"How about we settle this like DOGS!"

CRKSH!

Reality fractured as the burning plasma Odachi of the General cut through the air with a force that could shatter mountains and split oceans!

Ren Nora blinked, then his eyes burned green!

BZZZZZZZ!