"Know thy self, know thy enemy.

A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." -Sun Tzu

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[Roronora City, 9:28 P.M.]

A sickening red mist floats in the air throughout the dead sanctuary.

Giant Icemen surrounding the city continue to destroy and flatten everything and anything in their path.

They too are stepping in the mix of human blood and flooding city water, creating waves and submerging once erect buildings.

Underneath the convenience store in Northern Roronora, the owner who hid in his emergency bunker without warning his customers lets out a satisfied *BURRRRRRP* and an empty can gets tossed in the small emergency space.

With the only light coming from his lantern, the "safe" store owner closes his book but suddenly the rumblings of the commotion above make the middle aged man sweat. He looks over at the base of his ladder.

Overtaking the muffled sounds of destruction, steady dripping onto metal can be heard, and it confuses the man.

As the shaking and sounds of destruction become stronger the drips become a steady pour.

The man slowly crawls over with his lantern and his finger tips gets wet. He raises his hand into the light and the glistening red liquid can be clearly made out.

Store Clerk: "What the fu-"

Before he can finish his sentence a loud crashing is heard and a metal beam above dents the metal latch door. It allows an even steadier stream of blood flood into the tiny bunker containing the hiding man.

In an accidental freak out, the man’s lantern gets dowsed in the liquid and he begins climbing up the ladder in the dark. The red fluid that is flooding the city is pouring down on him and filling up his safe space quickly.

As he climbs the frantic survivor spits out a mouthful of whatever is pouring on him.

To his dismay, as he gets to the top and pushes up, the door doesn’t budge.

Store Clerk: "Come on, please no!"

The more he tries the faster the danger floods in.

Store Clerk: "Please God! Not like this!"

On one struggling press he slips and hits his head on one of the metal bars of his ladder, knocking him out. He falls to the darkness below with a splash.

Just above the metal tomb, the last few air bubbles signal the completion of the filled area and a giant Iceman foot stomps back down.

At the center of the red painted city, the last half of the invading smaller variant alien species is still making their way into the True Bloom Arena.

As if they are civilized beings, the smaller Icemen covered in blood,are waiting in lines and entering in the same way humans would pack into the sports dome.

Still, none have exited.

[3 Miles Inward From Southern Roronora Border. 9:30 P.M.]

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Saku’s shaking right arm slowly and reluctantly pushes the blade deeper through Shelly’s right shoulder.

Her hardcore glare on him beautifully transitions to her gorgeous smile, their eyes stay locked.

Shelly: "Thanks for the good fight, Saku.

I knew you wouldn’t let me down..."

Saku’s green, tear-filled eye grows wider in almost a kind of realization.

From out of nowhere, a pure white SoulSeiõrShield covered sneaker comes in with a flying dropkick, making Saku release his grip on the stolen weapon, and the Yin Vessel goes skipping across the red flood, flying through a metal door, and into a neighboring pizza parlor across the street.

With her breathtaking pink and gold SoulSeiõrShield still active, Shelly sheathes her katana then quickly pulls the blade out of herself, and winces.

She puts a hand over her wound to slow the bleeding.

However, all pain leaves her as she looks up and blushes from seeing her adopted brother, showing up for the surprise assist. The bright moon perfectly behind his head.

Shelly: "Katsu!?

Wh-What are you-?!"

Katsu raises his tattooed thumb and gives her one of his iconic wide smile.

Katsu: "Now how’s that for a ’Dymamic Entry’!?

Haha!

Do ya get it, Shelly?!"

While Katsu has his pure white SoulSeiõrShield active, matching with his Yang aura coming from his 2nd Stage Anjell Eye, 4 Icemen seperated from the rest, come around 2 different street corners.

Even when injured, Shelly is still in her fight or flight mode.

While still bleeding from her right shoulder, with her undamaged arm, she holds out the less than half charged SunSword and Madame Fryer comes flying back in to help, but...

Katsu: "Don’t worry Shelly, they won’t attack you as long as I’m around.

I saw those four on my way here and I’m using them for now to help contain Saku.

They’re the only ones around us.

I can only assume those two giant Icemen I saw flying backwards earlier, were pushed back by him too."

Shelly: "Katsu...*winces*...why are you here?! It’s too dangerous.

I thought you went back to Sanpaku with everyone else?

You should’ve- *wince*..."

While looking around, staying alert, Katsu talks to his injured adopted sister.

Katsu: "Shell, how would you have escaped with a knocked out Saku, and all these giants destroying everything, if I didn’t come back to help?

I may not be useful enough to be able to communicate with all of those Icemen and stop them from attacking Roronora City, but I can at the very least control the aliens I see as I escort you two out."

He quickly peeks at Shelly’s torn sweatshirt, and her wounded, bloody shoulder.

From his pocket, Katsu pulls out a light green pulsing SeiõrSeed and tosses it to his injured adopted sibling.

Shelly catches it with her left hand, eats it, and after a few seconds, from the torn slit in her sweatshirt where she was stabbed, it begins to glow an exact same hue of light green as the healing Seiõr.

The other visible scratches on both her hands and face get healed quickly too.

She carefully rotates her shoulder while the Seiõr filled cashew is still healing her.

Shelly: "The pain... it’s not fully gone but these ’SeiõrSuppliments’ Madame Zoram made for us are amazing!"

Katsu smiles seeing his purpose no longer wincing in pain.

Katsu: "Mrs. Zoram said serious cuts and stab wounds take about 5 minutes to fully heal after consuming one of those."

Saku’s angry sobbing restarts and is echoing, making Katsu and Shelly get in a defensive stances, darting their eyes all around. Trying to spot the unpredictable enemy.

The four Katsu controlled Icemen spread out, looking for there commander’s rival.

They all stumble into the pizza parlor the young vessel was kicked into, looking all around the thrown around dining area of the Italian pie restaurant.

Shelly: "Something tells me he won’t gimme five right now.

Be careful Katsu, his abilities I’d consider, are instantaneous now, and he can move fast enough to leave after images behind."

From inside the pizza parlor, one of the searching Iceman makes it’s way to the back kitchen. As soon as it crosses the kitchen door’s threshold, the alien falls through an instant portal in the floor, falling into darkness.

The other three aliens all run towards the same doorway in reaction. Of the three, the first and second Icemen stop just in time before falling, but the third and final ice aliens bumps into them and sends the whole group down into the unknown depths below.

Back outside, Katsu senses the Icemen no longer around the area.

Katsu: "Quick, go hide somewhere until you’re fully healed Shell!

I’ll hold him off..."

Shelly: "Katsu, there’s no way you c-"

Katsu turns his head, with a heartwarming, genuine smile, locks eyes with her, and she stops herself before he speaks.

Katsu: "It’s my turn to show you, I can be cool too sometimes, Shelly..."

Feeling disappointed in herself, the Valkyrie descendant remembers how Katsu has always supported her ability and trusted her strength.

She remembers their first combat training class within the Sister Mountains, and how Katsu’s shouted proclamation to their peers that day, started her undefeated legacy within those mountains.

Shelly(thinking): *Who the hell am I, to tell Katsu he can’t do something?

After he has always supported my progress, but more importantly, his encouragement has always created my confidence.*

Suddenly Shelly’s Valkyrie sense kicks and horror covers her gorgeous face...

Shelly: "Katsuuuu!"

In slow motion, an incoming pouncing Berserk Saku, arm fully healed, has a shard of glass in his bleeding, left hand. He is inches away from stabbing the seemingly unaware Katsu in the side of the head...

But in a surprising, unexpected act of grace and awareness, Katsu only gets the tip of his bangs cut as he spin dodges, then countering with a followed through roundhouse kick as Saku lands next to him.

The sheer power from the Yang Vessel, on connection with the Yin Vessel’s hip, creates a force wave of power that seperates the moisture from the air around the two contemporary forces and blows the SeiõrSnow away from the scene for a moment.

There is a *SNAP* of Saku’s hip flexure, he once again goes uncontrollably skipping off the blood flood like a rock. This time, his momentum easily knocks down the telephone pole that stops him, pulling it out of the ground and submerging it under the liquid.

Shelly is blushing, while being on the sidelines for a change. Katsu lowers his kicking leg, without taking his eyes off the direction he sent his contemporary rival.

Shelly(thinking): *Th-That power was insane! That aura around Katsu...

That’s not just a SnowSeiõrShield around him, is it?*