Held was a little surprised by that; he kept listening to his opponent humming that song, analyzing it and trying to understand why he was singing it.
"What's the reason he's singing this out of nowhere?"
Held thought as he examined Lume's body while he stood up, noticing a certain scar very close to the serial killer's waist. That mark left the soldier quite surprised, somewhat apprehensive and shocked, as if something stirred in his mind when he saw that scar.
"Could it be… what I'm thinking?"
That moment of thought didn't last long, since the serial killer Lume finally finished getting up, though with some difficulty keeping his balance. But in the end, he managed.
— Wow, I must admit you hit me with a blow right on target… I'll have to be careful not to let that happen again!
Lume said this while adjusting his clothes, not wanting to lose his style and elegance during the fight, following his mindset that "no one likes doing important things looking messy and covered in dust." After doing that, he let out a bizarre, loud laugh and started speaking.
— This is like a music show, Mr. Held!
Held's attention focused on this line, mainly because it was a very specific and curious analogy made by the assassin.
— What do you mean? Where are you going with this?
Lume then snapped his fingers softly and calmly in front of his opponent, about to say something, moving his hands like a conductor at a concert.
— You still don't get it? This is like a music show — we had the opening and the start of the show, we're already halfway through, and now…
Lume abruptly turned toward the light of a streetlamp about eight meters away. When he got under the light, he just spread his arms and stopped his "conductor" movements, wearing a big smile and speaking with inspiration and excitement:
— Now we've reached the final part of the show, the last song of our beautiful concert!
Held became quite apprehensive at his opponent's words, even taking a defensive stance, holding his club a bit in front of his body, watching Lume's movements carefully.
"What kind of crazy talk is that? That actually scared me. The only thing missing now is him telling me pineapple pizza is good!"
Held thought to himself as Lume moved his hands inside his dark cloak — it looked like he was reaching for a weapon. Held then used his mission-day power that allowed him to manipulate air, launching a sharp wind blade that stopped the serial killer from pulling out the weapon and pushed him closer to a nearby building.
— Oh my, how brutal!
Lume said that sarcastically to provoke his opponent more, trying to find a way out of the corner. Suddenly, a bell started ringing in that building, revealing that it was actually a church.
— That bell is ringing for you, ringing to take your soul to rest!
Held said this to the assassin, about to finish him off against the church wall. But as he was about to crush his opponent, Lume suddenly began climbing up the building toward its rooftop.
— You're not getting away!
Held thought and quickly struck his club against the church's base, knocking down the part with the bell, causing Lume to fall freely. Unfortunately for the serial killer, he couldn't pull out any equipment from his cloak due to the speed of his fall. Held, on the other hand, was activating another of his skills — the skill from the eleventh day: the god of saws — making the tip of his club take the shape of a boar's head.
As Held was about to strike, Lume quickly grabbed the golden bell clapper from the church bell and threw it at Held's head.
"That bell won't hurt me, he should know that!"
The soldier thought as he raised his left arm to protect his head from the attack, but something strange and unexpected happened — the spinning golden sphere didn't just tear through his skin; it shredded his muscles, flesh, and bone, cutting off his entire forearm. The bell almost hit Held's face too, but he dodged just in time, only grazing the sphere before it hit the ground.
"How…?!"
Held thought, staring at his severed arm on the floor, blood dripping down.
— Surprised, huh?!
Lume said to the tall man — the serial killer had survived the tower fall by grabbing onto it until it crashed into a roof, stopping the fall. Held took a moment to think about the serious injury he'd suffered, tearing part of his uniform to tie around his bleeding arm to stop the blood flow and avoid dying from blood loss. After some thought, he came to a logical conclusion, considering Lume's personality:
— You lied about your power, didn't you?
Held said while still staring at the night assassin. The answer was a loud laugh followed by applause, as if Held had just won a TV quiz show.
— Exactly, my dear friend, that was another lie on my part! My real power is to hear feelings as music, and also…
Lume said while picking up a small stone from the ground — probably a piece of the church tower debris — placing it between his fingers and then throwing it toward Held, hitting a streetlamp pole and passing right through the metal and concrete without any difficulty.
— I give feelings to the things I touch!
The military captain looked at that seriously, apparently irritated, still analyzing his enemy's skill, until he finally reached a conclusion:
— So, you fill everything you touch with determination and attack your opponent, right, Lume?
Held said neutrally, as if he had just solved a big riddle. Lume smiled again, but this time it was a very evil and frightening smile, followed by his characteristic sinister laugh — a "Teimlahahahaha."
— Exactly. The best part is that anything in my hands becomes more dangerous than an AK-47 bullet!
Lume continued his pose, not scared by the fight at all, but rather like someone at an amusement park going only on their favorite rides — this fight was immensely fun and putting him in "heaven."
— Do you understand why we're at the conclusion of the show now, my military friend Held?!
Held stared at the man with a morbid and downcast look, letting out a deep sigh.
— You've lost your way in this, haven't you?
The soldier's words made the serial killer stop laughing, fixing his attention on Held, quite shocked.
— What do you mean?
The assassin's question confirmed what Captain Held had already thought. The muscular man looked into his opponent's eyes and began speaking with great hatred:
— You know, all the people in this country… No, all the people in this damn world are: resentful, liars, unfaithful, ungrateful, ignorant, destructive, proud, depraved, disloyal, selfish, hostile, anxious, unjust, malicious, rebellious, and hopeless…
Lume could hear the music coming from Held's body — the purest music of hatred and contempt emanating from him. The vision of his body was one of darkness because of that hatred, but this feeling quickly stopped, making way for the music of love, happiness, and hope.
— But I have a daughter and a son I want to care for and protect, just like all these people.
When the soldier said this, Lume was surprised and quite perplexed, even seeing a light illuminating Held's face as he smiled with innocence, like a hopeful child. Held's face then became very serious; he opened his stance and placed his only remaining arm behind his back while holding his club, then threw it into the sky with all his strength at that moment.
— The 18-day mission, the last day: The Three Jaguars!
His club in the air completely transformed — Held's determination was so strong it seemed to warp space-time, opening a portal in the sky. From that great portal came the paws of a jaguar, then the rest of its body, revealing an animal with three heads connected to one body. The heads on the sides bit Held's arms while the middle one bit his head. The shadow formed before the feline closed its jaws allowed Lume only to see Held's eyes, then the man smiled again. The beast closed its mouth and the "fusion" happened. All the other mission days were also released and activated at once.
— I-incredible…
Lume said as the dust of destruction rose, revealing the state of the military captain after it all — after activating the last skill, Held's body grew to three meters and fifteen centimeters tall, his muscle mass much bigger than before, and part of his uniform ripped from the sudden growth.
— Now let's move on to the final act, Lume!