The declaration confirmed their fears that this man was dangerous. 'I can't believe I have to face one of these natural disasters!' She quickly pushed down the fear welling in her chest. "Sit back and watch me while I go at him. Each of these psychopaths has a power that defies reason, so try and figure it out, will ya."
Jong nodded, and with his confirmation, she faced the enemy in front of her.
"2nd Gear!" She darted forward despite the lead feeling in her legs. She swung her scythe, using her speed to break through his guard.
"A skill for increasing your speed that relies on a blessing. I do believe that this is the Rapp's specialty." Tantalus continued to conduct a conversation as he effortlessly guarded every high-speed attack. "If you truly want to achieve victory, I suggest that you increase your speed further, girl."
Rosey looked back at her partner for a split second. The signal for him to step in. She hadn't figured out his ability, but if she starts enhancing her speed even more without knowing what he can do, she would most likely suffer for it.
"Single Crash!" A fist thrust through a newly opened portal close to the enemy's head.
"Can you handle both of us at the same time!" She ramped up the speed of her combination.
"Yes, actually." Rosey felt no change in his mana output, but even still, she felt something seriously off. Her attacks no longer rebounded his blade. It was as if she was striking a mountain. Instinctively he dodged the punch then followed up with his own towards Rosey.
Her hand slid down the pole of her scythe and pressed a button. Compressed mana shot out of the end, propelling her out of harm's way. "So, you were just holding back to lure us in!?"
"Not quite. If you don't solve it soon, your fates will be sealed."
Her hands gripped the scythe even harder as she prepared to launch another onslaught. A hand touched her shoulder. Jong's serene voice quelled her frustration. "I didn't figure out anything. So, this time, you sit back and watch while I go in. Okay?"
Jong bolted through the walkway dividing the graves and started throwing punches. Each one was successfully dodged or blocked with his blade. Multiple portals allowed Jong to punch from a variety of seemingly random directions. But even still, Tantalus parried each magically charged fist with his blade.
"What a strange ability but these punches lack bite. This tactic you're employing won't get you anywhere." It was truly clear from the exchange that Tantalus was indeed stronger and was pushing Jong back. The occasional attack would land on Jong and shallow cuts were beginning to pile upon his body.
Still, something seemed off to Rosey. 'He was able to block every attack I gave out. But he's not overpowering Jong by that large of a margin. My 2nd gear is way stronger than the style Jong is using right now to buy time. Not to mention, when we both attacked him, his power ramped up even more.' An epiphany struck her. If she was right, then Jong would never have a chance of winning.
"Jong portal out!" A blast whizzed past his ear as he retreated through a portal that put him beside his partner. "I think I figured him out."
Jong ceased huffing and puffing long enough to get a few words out. "Do tell."
"Yes, do tell. It would be inspiring for you to understand me from just a few minutes of our altercation. Although comprehending me does nothing for your situation." Tantalus slowly approached them. An invisible force swept around in one hand, and his sword was held firm in the other.
"Please tell me he's just attempting to demoralize us."
"No, it's pretty spot on. This bastard's strength adjusts to his opponents. Isn't that right, you fucker?!"
The emotion of shock manifested itself on his visage. "In just a few minutes, you've deciphered my power. Simply amazing." He stopped and held his sword in the crease of his elbow, all so he could shower her with a few claps. "My authority of greed is Step Above. No matter who I am facing. No matter how many I am facing. I will always be stronger by a slim margin. Personally, I find my power to be quite ironic. Don't you? If I were to fight a primal god, I would be one of the mightiest beings on the planet. But if I fought a dying child, I would be no stronger than a sickly old man." With his explanation concluded, he quickly resumed his approach.
"You hear the nice man's explanation, Jong? That means only one of us fights him at a time. And I think it's pretty safe to say that you're not winning any time soon."
Jong nodded, but his mouth had tightened into a single line on his face. "Then let me do this." His hands reached out and secured themselves on her shoulders. "Intiqol." A glow radiated from his hands.
Rosey felt a deep warmth transfer from his hands directly into her body. "Jong..." She didn't know what to say.
His face attempted to produce a weak smile. "This is all I can do. Hopefully, he waits like a perfect gentleman while I transfer my mana to you."
Her head swiveled to the man in front of her, who stood patiently waiting. 'I've only used a small amount of my mana to enter second gear and maintain it. Still, I need every drop available if I'm going to face against him.' Rosey was determined to see this transfer through. "Why did you kill Gluttony!? If you're really Greed, then shouldn't you be working together?" She would buy as much time as needed by preoccupying him.
"I killed him because he was a threat to my homeland. I will destroy anyone that attempts to even set one foot inside my country with hostile intent!"
The power swelling into her continued as the madman's rant began. 'Lucky! I happened onto something he can't resist talking about.'
Tantalus sneered as he recalled his past feats. "I will destroy all who threaten my family. Be it a psychopath, hero, demon, god, devil, legendary beast, or even an army! I will protect them from all potential harm, just as I have been for the last five hundred years! I am a guardian deity for my people! "
"Then why fight us? We have nothing to do with your home." She just needed a little longer.
"Why? Why indeed." The rage faded, and melancholy remained. "I suppose it's because of what I just learned. Maybe… maybe I just want this nightmare to end."
That was not the answer she was expecting. "Then!"
His eyes shined with a sudden burst of resolve. "I will not merely lay still while you execute me. I will die in a pitched battle for my life! That is why I have allowed you this time as a reprieve. So you could gather your strength. Now then, will you summon all your might and strike me down? Or will you run away with your tail betwixt your legs and let the psychotic monster in front of you roam free!?"
The warmth of Jong's mana dissipated, marking the transfer's completion. "Personally? I don't give a damn about you running free." Her harshness grated the man before her.
"Then, will you run!?"
"Run? I never said that." Slowly a grin unfurled. "I'm going to cut you down. Not because of the threat you pose. Not because of all things you've done. No. I'm cutting you down for two simple reasons. One! You have royally fucked up my ancestral resting place. Two! Because killing you is my ticket to glory and higher-paying jobs!" Her hands gripped the polearm and swung it to rest on her back. "Are you ready for it?"
Tantalus clutched the invisible something in one hand in anticipation of her next move. His other hand gripped the sword firmly. "Is that so? Kill me for glory? How greedy of you, little girl."
"I SAID ARE YOU READY!?"
"Come! I'll strike you down, and then I'll move on to my fellow sinners!"
Rosey's speed is the culmination of generations of practice and the blessing of the god of speed. With this blessing, everyone in the Rapp family can directly channel mana into their bloodstream without consequences. By amping the dosage, one can increase their speed even further. Rosey would be considered a prodigy even among the Rapp. If one were to measure the speed of her gears, they would have quite the exponential graph. Her second gear can easily reach up to 80MPH. "3rd Gear!" Her third gear, however, can reach 300MPH. Without a moment of hesitation, she spurted with full intent on cleaving him in half.
"Incredible." The attack was stopped short, thanks to the blade that stood in its way. Greed was flung back a few feet. An attack came from behind while he was still soaring through the air. Again, he blocked it. He stepped in for a counter, but she disappeared before he had the chance.
"How about this, you monster?!" She rushed forward but was swiftly blocked. She appeared above him instantaneously but was barely blocked. Behind him, he nearly was skewered. From every direction, every second, an attack was being launched towards him. Every time he would barely defend against it.
"What an annoyance! Then I'll make your life a little harder! Samol!" The invisible wind in his free hand shot out in every direction like a shotgun. Skirting along the ground, Rosey dodged the stray shots. "Samol Doimi!" The shots stopped, and no new attack came.
'This is my chance.' She ran fast enough to make her legs blur as if she was a cartoon character. She flitted to the side of him and prepared her strike. "What!?" Before she could reach him, an invisible wall halted her.
"How nice to see you." The wall faded, and as she reeled from the sudden stop, a sword lodged itself into her left shoulder.
"FUCK!" With a compressed mana shot towards the ground, she flung herself up into the air before diving towards the earth at full speed. She swung out with her scythe. Again, just as it almost reached him, he dodged to the left. Twisting in the air, she moved to swing horizontally towards his head. Again, he dodged.
"Got you!" Her hand glided over two buttons, pressing them at the same time. From the flat end of the back of her scythe came a new scythe that propelled towards his face.
"Wh-" With his sword, he scraped against the new edge of the scythe, slightly repelling it. But he was too late as it gouged through the side of his head, destroying his left eye. The force of the blow, coupled with the intense pain, caused him to drop his sword. His world distorted, but his plan had worked.
She jumped back from him but was suddenly stopped by an invisible force. "Another wall!" Her head rocked as her brain attempted to process what had just happened. Yet another shock and then another. A flurry of fists rained from the half-blind man who had lost his only weapon. "Piss off!" The blade sliced a portion of his cheek off, but now she had temporarily lost her only means of attack.
"Samol Suroxi!" A wind cloaked fist shattered her jaw and attempted to break her windpipe. The other one dislodged her ribs before potentially rupturing her stomach. Immediately following that, he turned tail and sprinted towards his lost sword.
"I won't let you!" She instantly caught up to him. He jumped over the swing that threatened to bisect him. He crashed into the ground, grabbing his sword as he rolled. "Eat shit!" She pointed the gun end and shot four mana compressions into his body as he retrieved his weapon. One hit his left lung while the other three pierced his gut. "You're not getting off that easy!" Her scythe dug into his shoulder before tugging up and ripping it to shreds. Red sprayed through the air. A sword barely sliced a line along her cheek before she retreated.
"This is quite the fight, little lady." Enjoyment was written all over his face. Opposing him was a girl with the look one might have while doing a monotonous task.
"You made your power seem so amazing, but it's pretty shit, isn't it?" The bleeding from her shoulder was begging to make her feel a little woozy. Not to mention the constant mana burning required to maintain her gear.
With a sly smile, he responded. "Shit? Against just about anyone but you, this power is pretty absolute."
"All you do is match someone's strength. You don't match their speed whatsoever. Earlier against Jong, you were trying to be slick and not expose your little secret, so you slowed down. But now, I'm going to end you."
Sitting in the grass completely exhausted, Jong watched on. His helplessness was not something new to him. Many times, had he watched her tackle the impossible
while he did nothing. He understood that by stepping in he would endanger her, but that didn't make him feel any better. Especially when he knew what she was planning to do next.
"4th Gear!" Most Rapp's wouldn't dare go beyond the third state, but she wasn't the kind to back down. 'Every one of them said it was too dangerous, but no matter how carefully they lived, they all ended up right here eventually. So, who cares if I live a little dangerously?' Instead of injecting mana into her bloodstream to achieve fourth, she would have to inject it directly into her heart. Even with the blessing, this came with its fair share of side effects and problems.
"So, you're going to take advantage of the fact that I am injured greatly?" His smile caused a shiver to make its way down her spine. "Amazing! You were hiding even more power! Then come!! Let us see which is superior. My wind reading or your speed?"
"You won't like the answer."
"H-" Without a moment's notice, she closed the gap of over a hundred feet. Her scythe slammed into his sword. The ground beneath him buckled, and his body was swept off the ground. Another hit sent him flying upward. With speed comparable to a jet plane, she followed him into the sky with a jump that shattered the earth and a few gravestones. She silently apologized to her ancestors and assured herself that they would agree that the man in front of her was worth damaging their resting places. From every direction possible, she slammed into him with the same force one might experience from a head-on collision with a semi.
"Samo-" Before the incantation could be said, he was hit once more. The only thing keeping him together was the massive amounts of mana he was spilling out to act as a buffer between her weapon and his skin. Still, even with his armor, bones were being smashed to bits with every strike.
"FALL!" the coup de grâce slammed into him from above, sending him straight into the earth flat on his back. His wind magic slowed the fall somewhat, but his spine had definitely seen better days.
"Samser!" Sectors of wind shot out from his person in blade-like files. In every direction even towards the sky, these magic blades continued nonstop in their endeavor.
"So, what?!" Rosey jet towards him from above but couldn't move out of the way in time as a wind blade slashed vertically up her torso. She moved to the ground and attempted a different direction but was met with the same fate each time. Her entire body lay open with red streaming gashes that only served to slow her down and end the fight.
"You think your speed is only an advantage? Ha! I shall discipline you in the field of combat. These blades normally would never cause grave damage. But what do you think happens when someone going faster than sound runs into one? Not only that, but your speed makes it close to impossible to do tiny maneuvers like turn. I may not be able to react to you, but the opposite is also true."
The truth behind his statement aggravated her to no end. If he was creating a random pattern, then she would discern the pattern and find the opening. She pushed off the ground. Blades of wind rushed at her, but she could see a hole in the onslaught. Threading the needle, her body appeared directly behind him. 'An obvious trap if I ever did see one.'
"Even if you are faster than sound, if I strike you preemptively, I'll still find victory." His sword lunged out as he turned around. Before he could end the fight, she vanished right before his eyes.
In the distance, Jong witnessed the high-speed jump Rosey had made. Now towering over the unresponsive Tantalus, she readied her final gambit. Her finger pressed the third and final button on her pole. In the center of her scythe's shaft, a compartment opened and revealed a strangely lit white crystal. Jong immediately understood what she was going to do. The crystal was a special kind that stored up power from moving around before releasing out in a wave of pure energy. He couldn't help but think how simultaneously stupid and amazing she was.
In the air Rosey prepped herself. 'I've never tried this before. Although if he survives this, then I never had a chance at winning, to begin with.' With a smile that would make anyone question her sanity, Rosey did the insane thing of injecting mana directly into her brain. "5th Gear! And Momentous Rush!" Her scythe seemingly doubled in size. The aura of mana around it was practically visible even to those who couldn't sense mana.
The man awaiting his execution after the second that had passed between now and her disappearance figured out where she had gone. As fast as he could, he raised the sword horizontally above him and steadied it with both his shattered arms. He couldn't run, and even if he had enough time, he wouldn't. This was the culmination of his long life. He would win here and protect all those he cared about! "Who would that be...?" His mind was unfocused as the woman who was now faster than a blackbird crashed into him.
"ORAAAA!" The scythe made direct contact with his sword. The force broke the sword instantly and sunk into his trapezius. His hands moved to stop the scythe from sinking further in. Pure energy radiated off the steel, vaporizing the skin from his hands. Undeterred, he held firm onto the scythe, stopping her momentum.
"I. Will. Not. Fall!"
Blood dripped onto the shattered ground from her nose as the mana began poisoning her brain. The longer she stayed in fifth, the closer she was to killing herself. She couldn't afford to be stalled. "JUST GIVE UP!" A jet of energy shot out the back of the pole as Rosey unloaded all her mana to push the scythe down.
"I will see him again! You won't hinder me!" Unconsciously he spoke those words. As soon as they left his mouth, he felt something wrong. How long had it been since he had seen his son? His little hector was bound to not even be alive anymore. How could he forget about such an important thing? How could he lose track of time? What was even the point? Maybe... maybe he pushed it down so that he would never question the point. So that no matter what, he could continue with some hope. Still, all he had done, all he had been doing was now pointless.
With a sunken smile, he released the scythe and was quickly torn asunder. A river of energy flowed beyond his falling corpse. It cut through the ground and graves. Then with a loud crack, it carved into the towering giant behind him. The great tree of Baum now held a permanent scar.
"Got... him..." With no energy left in her body and the blood in her body boiling, Rosey collapsed.
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Blinking to make sure she wasn't dead, Rosey sat up from a sleeping bag. The stars were out in the sky, and a star scraping tree stood right next to her. "Jong?" She called out, unsure of herself and what was going on.
"I'm right here. Are you so worn out you can't feel anything?" She looked down beside her, following the voice of concern. Jong lay on the ground holding her hand tight. Despite this, she felt nothing.
"I just got into a life-or-death altercation. Why don't I feel any pain?" Her entire body should be on fire and in agony.
"That's my question. I took you to a healer a few days ago, and they said you were all better. By the way, a healer that heals brain damage is expensive."
"Alright, you cheapskate, I'll pay you back later." She pinched herself and, sure enough, felt nothing. "Maybe I pushed my mind too much. W-well, I'm sure given enough time, it'll get better." Her optimistic tone was the fakest thing Jong had ever heard come from that mouth. "So, Jong, why are we here?" Rosey had already figured out why. She was just hoping that she was wrong.
"Rose, if you don't do this, then you never will. What kind of friend would I be if I let you make this horrible mistake? This time there won't be any interruptions, no fighting you have to do." When he looked into her eyes, he saw a hanging doubt. "Surely, the slayer of Greed can do this. Can't she?"
She couldn't bear to look at his love-filled eyes. "I... don't know."
He squeezed her hand harder despite knowing she couldn't feel it. "I'll be there the whole time, and no matter what happens, I won't tell a soul about it."
Her heart couldn't contain her doubts. "Why?" A simple question was muttered out but yet the most complex one she could have given him.
He leaned into her field of vision. His heart beating was the only thing he could hear. "You are such an idiot. It's because I love you." He felt like he could die of embarrassment, but he wouldn't flinch. Though his face felt hot and he was about to hurl, he wouldn't back down.
A look he had never seen spread across her face. Her cheeks matched the hue of her cloak. "Was the idiot part really necessary?"
He inched even closer so that their mouths were barely separated. "I think it was. So what about my answer?" He didn't even know he could be this smooth with his voice. He was just surprising himself left and right today.
Her silver eyes looked directly into his. The stars in the sky illuminated them so that they shined brilliantly. "How's this for an answer." Her original cockiness mixed in with the weird feeling in the air. With an unfeeling hand, she caressed his cheek while the other clutched his hand. "..." For a moment, she hesitated before shutting her eyes and lunging forward. A soft, warm feeling touched her lips as they met with his. Feeling she had lost slowly returned to her as the embrace continued.
Jong reached with his free hand and ran his fingers through her hair. He placed his hand at the back of her head. With a soft nudge, he pressed their lips together more tightly. In response, instinctively, she removed her hand from his cheek and gripped the back of his clothes tightly.
Feelings she was not aware of surfaced. 'I'm not letting you get the last laugh, Jong!' With vigor, she worked her tongue into his mouth. The warm feeling gave her goosebumps as she wrapped her tongue around his. An electrifying feeling passed through her body. Before she could go any further, Jong pushed her away.
"What is wrong with you... you pervy woman!"
"Hah? Pervy woman? Are you telling me you didn't like it!?" She could plainly see from the indentations in his lower abdominal region that he most definitely did enjoy it.
"That's not the issue! Think of where we are, you idiot!"
"Yeah... I'll admit it's probably very weird to kiss in a graveyard."
"You think!?" Both of their faces were blushed as they stared into each other's eyes as if to confirm that what just happened had actually happened. "Are you going to be okay?"
Rosey couldn't help but smile sweetly at the sincerity and concern in his voice. "I will be if you..."
"If I?"
Like a ditzy school girl, she waltzed up to him. Her hand caressed his cheek. She gave him a playful look that made his heart squeeze. "If you give me another one later." She turned towards the tree and set out for the newest grave, but soon she found that Jong had laid her out right next to it. Anxiety made her want to turn tail. 'How weak will Jong think I am if I run now?!' Her stubbornness planted her feet firmly to the ground. She would do what she came here for no matter what. "Hey, mom."