Abe's brown eyes were engulfed by a golden light and an added grace found him. Although his eyes didn't actually change color, the golden film of light that acted as a lens over them was beautiful. With that lens Abe could see so much more. And he was able to see past the barrier of flesh and peer into bones, sinew and veins.
"It didn't heal," Abe smirked silently to himself. For his eyes saw that though Breaker said he was fine, he wasn't completely fine. The pill was an effective one. For it dulled Breaker's pain greatly and provided something like a graft over the broken ribs to hold them together. Although the bones were being mended, the process wasn't as fast as Breaker made Rage believe. The muscles around the area weren't in the best shape either. They were torn and punctured in many areas, and though they were healing faster than the bones were, it was going to take several hours before any major progress would be made on that front.
"I guess I know what to target," Abe smiled to himself as he and Breaker finally did meet in their first real confrontation.
"Hah!" Breaker screamed as he pushed past his pain and swung his giant hammer. For one who was an assassin, a hammer surely was a strange weapon of choice. Abe quickly sidestepped to avoid the attack. For he wasn't foolish enough to meet a hammer with a sword, no matter how strong that sword was. Besides, Breaker was 6 energy levels above Abe. Sure he wasn't at his best, but a blow from him would be risky for Abe, even with his great defense as an Earth Wielder.
*Boom*
With a deafening sound that large hammer crashed into the ground. A large crater that spanned several meters appeared around the destructive weapon and the slight shaking of the ground confirmed that Abe made the right choice.
"Wayward Slash," Abe quickly struck back. He swung his sword delicately with the grace of a king, and a bright golden light escaped the blade of his slender weapon. Abe was dangerously close to Breaker, having just escaped the smaller man's attack. But Breaker quickly showed why he was an assassin by making the snap decision of letting go of his hammer and back bending to an unnatural and inhumane angle.
*Whish*
A powerful gust of wind accompanied the sword light that flashed over Breaker's head, scattering his long hair all over his face. The sword light travelled continuously and didn't seem to lose any energy. But before Breaker could claim he had escaped, he saw where the sword light was travelling to. For the sword light was swiftly moving towards Rage!
Selina and Aegeus were keeping Rage in check. Since all three were Berserkers, the natural advantage that Rage usually relied on to overwhelm his opponents was no longer there. For as he grew stronger, Aegeus and Selina grew stronger as well. His anger and frustration yielded no results here. For Aegeus and Selina were also greatly incensed by his and Breaker's earlier antics. And the more they fought without causing any true harm, the more their frustrations grew.
Suddenly Rage's expression grew tensed. He could feel a powerful wave travelling towards him. And he tried to avoid it. Yet neither Selina nor Aegeus was that keen on making things easy for him.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Selina barked as she thrust her spear powerfully at Rage.
Strong crimson flames exploded from her body and engulfed her spear. And a scorching heat much similar to the pits of Hades threatened to swallow Rage whole. As if that wasn't enough, Aegeus who was to Rage's left also sent his regards. His rod grew slightly, increasing in size and length to about two times its original girth. Aegeus clutched the rod and hugged it tightly. With great authority he span round and swung it towards Rage's mid-section, much to the skinny man's horror. A powerful wind gathered around Aegeus's rod and created a miniature tornado around it. With a powerful grunt Aegeus brought this tornado down on Rage.
Fire and Wind had always had a complicated relationship. Depending on the elements in the air, fire could either be suppressed or incensed. However, usually Wind acted as Fire's encourager. And it was no different this time. Abe didn't just pair Aegeus and Selina together because they were Berserkers, but because they used complementary elements. Aegeus was a Wind User, and Selina a Fire User. The two of them together was a dynamite combination – literally. And the fruit of such a decision was showing.
Feeling that there was nothing he could do to ignore the incoming onslaught, Rage gritted his teeth and braced himself. His long toes dug into the earth and drew from its power, for his ability as an Earth User was a great boost to his defense. His body may be tough, but even he wouldn't be so ignorant to think that he could take this with just his body.
A golden brown light covered Rage's frame to offer additional protection. One might wonder why high levels wielders of earth didn't resort to morphing the ground beneath them. The answer was simple. It took too much time. If Rage summoned the earth beneath him instead of coating the earth elemental fragments around him, he would be toast before his summoning was complete.
*Bang*
*Bang*
*BOOM*
Rage was sent flying by the numerous strikes. Like a broken kite Rage flew several hundreds of centimeters away – and into the marked area. Selina and Aegeus were right behind the disoriented Rage and less than two seconds after Rage landed in the marked area, they arrived there too.
From within the bunker a wide smirk stretched Frederick's lips towards the farthest ends of his face. "Bingo," Frederick chuckled, and commanded that the barrier be activated.
Rage had barely regained his senses when he felt the fiery aura of Selina fast approaching. With instincts befitting of one who had undertaken several dangerous missions, he rolled out of the way.
*Bang*
Selina's potent spear easily pierced the ground below and was lodged deeply into the earth. For the blade and more than half of the shaft were deep underground.
"They really are pests. I cannot allow them to surround…huh?" It was only now that Rage realised that he was trapped. For a faint blue light formed a dome around the ground he stood upon. He was stuck with Selina and Aegeus.
"It's just us now," Aegeus chuckled before tossing his rod into the air and commanding of it, "Grow!"
*Voom*
The slender rod quickly grew to become as large as the stem of an oak tree. Aegeus jumped and clutched on to it midair, before falling to the ground with the mighty rod sitting on his neck and shoulders like a great boulder. His knees naturally bent when he landed, but he easily pushed himself erect. The ground beneath him carved in slightly due to the weight of the rod, yet Aegeus stood steady.
Selina arrived next to Aegeus with her power in full throttle. Her arms and feet were covered in crimson flames, and her spear – from its shaft to its blade – was covered in flames that were slightly deeper than the ones that covered her extremities. Wielders like Mane who could accept the full baptism of fire were rare. With Mane it was a gift he inherited from his father. And even with Selina, being able to coat her extremities with deadly flames showed a high level of talent. For usually fire and ice users could only use their powers effectively through a medium like a gun or sword. Jake was more talented for just like Mane he could engulf his entire body with flames. But Selina wasn't far behind. She was able to temporarily accept the baptism of fire across her entire body, as she had shown earlier. And if her comprehension of fire grew by another notch, she would join Mane and Jake. But there was another here who was a fire user.
"That was a stroke of great fortune," Abe thought silently to himself whilst the coolness of the medal that hung around his neck caressed his chest. This medal was the Lucky Charm Frederick made for him. Just now he felt it light up when he attacked. And though he didn't intend for his strike to push Rage into the formation barrier, it did. Even he didn't dare claim credit for this.
"So that's what they was aiming for," Breaker took several steps back to create some distance between himself and Abe. "Are there traps around the house? I must be cautious then."
"I think there's something you should know," Breaker shouted at Abe whilst popping another blue pill into his mouth.
"Oh? What is it?" Abe was intrigued by Breaker's antics. For he didn't think the small man could deceive him.
"Well, my friend has claustrophobia," Breaker informed Abe.
"So?" Abe failed to see how this mattered. To him, Breaker was just stalling.
"Well, my friend is popularly called Rage. Do you know why he got that name?" Breaker asked with a strange smile on his face. His words and smile brought a degree of unease to Abe's heart.
"He's called Rage because in uncomfortable situations, he grows crazy – and super strong."
As if on cue a powerful aura broke out from within the barrier, and Abe's expression changed.