She nodded, 'You're not used to your powers yet so I doubt that you have tapped into this ability. Anyway, I've been keeping the scrolls for a long time…'
'How did you even manage to get your hands on them?'
'Magic.'
'If your magic is that good then why didn't you mingle some herbs and brew a potion that could force me to join forces with you?'
She chuckled softly, 'My magic is the best but no matter how hard I practice, it could never force another creature to do my bidding. Anyway…Maglereto didn't use the most of his intelligence and make the writings more complicated…'
'Why did you steal the scrolls?'
'I didn't steal them only for myself. The plan was to study them then give them to other Versatiles to study.'
'Why not steal them only for yourself then?'
'That's only because I believe in unity and empowerment of our Race. Every other species is meant to bow down to the Versatile, the most supreme of them all, including the Girols. The Dawn is meant to be an uprising of the Supremes, to purge the world of humans, but the Versatile is destined to lead and conquer them all. Too bad you're too arrogant to understand that.'
'Who and where are the Felines, Finch?' he asked her, suddenly leaping onto another subject.
'Just consider them my sisters.'
'That's not a good enough answer,' his tone was becoming bolder.
'Sisters don't sell each other out.'
'They're not your Race!'
'I know but…we've been through thick and thin. I hate all Supremes except Felines and Versatiles. Too bad you're on the humans' side. I hate Girols because they still think they're superior to us, I hate Canines because they're basically and literally dogs, I hate Phantoms because the last one I created stabbed me in the back and made the Destroyers rise up in the Supreme Race food chain and I hate Destroyers because prophecy depicts them as having the potential of becoming a huge threat to the Versatiles, and as for you…,' she became more serious, 'You may not owe me a favor any longer but I will have your life! The thing about answers is that they just leave you with more questions.'
'What exactly do you wish to achieve, Finch? After you "purge" the world of all humans?'
'Your questions are starting to bore me…males are so foolishly relentless…Now…' She swung her arms and stood in a fighting stance Brendan had never seen before, 'Allow me to show you the most dangerous and most powerful form of martial arts there is and ever will be; Gwanjundo!'
Her attacks were unpredictable this time but this did not come as a surprise to Brendan, especially with the implacable character that she had. She attacked with such elegance yet her moves were artistic, swift and heavy. His defense routine had now become paralyzed. She would swing a right punch and just as he put up his left hand to block it, she would land several sharp and quick punches in his ribs with her other hand. Luckily for Brendan though, after taking these blows he would gasp in pain and this gasp swept in a flow of energy, not only making him stronger but also easing his pain, but just a little.
The Finch wore a wily smile on her face as if she was not even trying.
Her blows were aimed at several but specific points of his body which Brendan realized had been Thomas' favourites. The punches settled in his left eye, stomach and ribs. The kicks landed in the side of his thighs and the sides of his knees. He was beginning to lose energy fast.
'Could you at least try to defend yourself, my love?' she mocked him but not even stopping her assaults for a moment.
He did not answer. His focus was on trying to stop these blows. He swung one decisive left kick at her but she artistically laid it to rest on her shoulder instead.
Tilting her head on his ankle, she made sure that his leg was firmly secured. She grabbed the calf on this leg using her fingers and began squeezing on it. She noticed he was not feeling any pain from this so she pulled his restrained leg forward and using her left leg, kicked his standing leg, throwing him off-balance and crashing onto the ground with a thud on his back. She seized the opportunity and raised her right foot, bringing it swiftly down to stomp on him.
He was quick to act. He used a reverse somersault and stood up straight on his feet and as soon as he managed to do so, he ran a few feet backwards, his fists still alert. He bumped into the side of an abandoned truck. He only threw his eye briefly behind him to see what he had bumped into then brought his glare back to the Finch.
'The beauty of Gwanjundo, my love, is that its attacks depend on a plan B before a plan A.' She had dropped her arms, as if Brendan was not even a challenge to her anymore. Her wicked grin was more sinister than ever. 'It's like you can read your opponent's mind yet it's just speed and putting your coordination and mind to the ultimate test.' She was now walking towards him. She threw her hair back to reveal her gorgeous face, marked only by small patches of dust.
'The Anonymous fears no soul!' Brendan growled. He planted all his fingers into the side of the truck he had bumped into and began swinging it in the air in front of him trying to hit her. One would say that the sight of him waving such a large vehicle was an extraordinary scene but it also looked like a baby throwing a tantrum because of his desperation.
She was effortlessly ducking the vehicle and her smile showed no signs of waning. 'Running out of moves, aren't we?' she taunted him some more as she kept ducking with her hands behind her back, 'I know I'm not,' she added. At the next swing, she struck it with her right foot in a rotational clockwise motion releasing it from his grip and sending it rolling across the road. 'Desperation must be your middle name,' she said.
'And idiocy must be yours! Do you realize that the more you give me time to breathe the more your chances of winning decrease?'
'Don't teach me stuff I already know, my love. No matter how many times you breathe, your skills could never match Gwanjundo. Anyway…I've been saving my ace in the hole for now.'
'Ace in the hole?' His gasping was calming down. He did not want to miss another word she would speak.
'It's strange that it was given the same name they gave that wretched sword they created for us.' She swayed her waist slowly then brought it back with a violent jerk. Her hands were stretched out in front of her as though she intended to place them against a wall. She kept repeating this routine. 'Another thing you didn't know, my love; the Dirty Fate sword is unstoppable when used against a Versatile but that's not the only weapon unstoppable when used against us.' Her jerking and arm movements had finally stopped. She brought her right fist in front of her face and scratched her knuckles with her long nails, leaving them to bleed slowly. The scratch marks were not too deep or wide but were like scratch marks left buy a playful cat.
'Grinamatero Dorto Frirate kamena!' she shouted.