Bruno and Rosanna lunged at each other. He punched from behind over his shoulder in a circular motion and directed his knuckles into Rosanna's left side of her head.
She bowed, curved her head beneath his forearm, and twisted her right hand on her hip, uppercutting into Bruno's jaw to give herself an opening to pound with her left leg and spun kick into his chest, knocking him backward.
Bruno skidded on the ground, bent his knees, and dashed back up close, punching his right arm in a forward jab, directing his fist into her face.
She caught his arm, turned her body around, hit her bottom into Bruno's waist, and hurriedly tossed his body over her shoulder, smashing him into the ground.
She raised her left leg over her head and prepared to crash her heel into Bruno's face, who lay on his back.
He clutched her right ankle, pulled it for her to lose equilibrium, and caused her to fall forward. He followed up by touching the ground with his palm and hoisting his legs over his chest, slamming his soles into her stomach, knocking her back, and giving himself enough time to spring to his feet.
She grabbed her stomach and instantly raised her view in Bruno's direction. "Not bad for a rookie." She claimed, removing her hand from her stomach. "I wouldn't call myself a rookie. I've been fighting for years." Bruno responded, preparing a fighting stance.
Joey pointed his right palm ahead and shot out bullets, darting in Bow's direction.
Bow skipped a crack in the ground by jumping to the side and then hurriedly sprinted away from the bullets speeding behind him. "You can't run forever, bowman!" Joey laughed and hastened his aim that caught up to Bow.
Bow cartwheeled to the side and dodged the bullets that blew in between his legs, arms, and around him. And while upside down, he aimed at Joey and released the string, shooting a golden arrow that gunned between the bullets.
Joey stepped to the side, ducking beneath the arrow that struck the gate behind him, and on contact detonated, destroying some pieces which got flung through the air.
Bow landed on his knee and swiped his arm behind his back. He summoned three golden arrows between his fingers and leaned them on the string.
"Quiver Pace." He released the string, shooting out a combination of triple arrows. They sped forward, but instead of going straight, they circled a pattern through the air.
Joey looked at them confused, but before acting, he noticed the arrows attaching to his torso. "What? They aren't sharp?"
Bow stood up and smiled, "No. But explosive." Upon his statement, Joey's eyes opened wide as he heard a ringing noise, and before he could remove them, he got caught in a giant explosion.
It kicked up a whirlwind and cracked some terrain while covering Joey's body in a smokescreen.
Bow waited for a few seconds, but suddenly his eyes glowed orange. What he saw caught him off guard. He rolled to the side as a flurry of bullets flew past his ears and penetrated the walls behind him.
The smoke surrounding Joey disappeared, and Bow flinched.
Joey appeared all right, without any major wounds, and all he did was laugh. "Did you really think my body can't sustain some explosions? Come on, bowman! I'm a cyborg. I'm like a sturdy shield or a defensive tank!"
Bow stood up, his mouth shaking from irritation. "Don't act like it didn't damage your skin. A few more of these explosions and even your sturdy body won't be able to hang on for much longer."
Joey grinned as his left eye revealed a hole. "Maybe, maybe. But good luck with these attacks! Laser Beam!" His eye charged up energy and then shot out a powerful laser that cut through the floor like butter.
Bow leaped to the side and noticed the laser halving the entire house into two pieces that collapsed on the ground on top of a few marines.
Kou and Kyora motionlessly observed Alejandro approaching them, keeping his sword sheathed on his belt.
He crossed his arms, stopping in between the pillars. "I would've preferred to come across your captain so that we would finish what we started, but taking out his underlings should allow me to fight him in the future."
Alejandro seemed to keep his composure as Kou and Kyora continued exchanging eyes with each other. "What do you mean underlings? You're talking as if we don't have enough skill to take you down." Kou called, shaping his hands into fists.
"Skill... No, I'm not suggesting you lack skills; I'm just saying that the term "enough" is a strange choice. You think you two will be able to beat me? Even your captain couldn't land a finger on me."
Kou and Kyora looked at each other, confused but then locked their eyes back onto Alejandro. "He couldn't?" Kyora asked, her head cocked to the side. "That's factual. Your captain attempted to engage me in a duel, but in the end, he was just a hopping monkey dodging my blows."
Kyora extended her arm, pointing her finger at Alejandro with a deliberating tone. "You're looking down on our captain, calling him names? You don't expect us to let that one slide through, do you?" Kyora called, pulling back her arm. "What will you do then? Aimlessly sway like your captain? Take me out only to learn that you lack the skills necessary to accomplish so? Or scurry about these corridors in search of a pillar to hide behind? Unfortunately, neither of those alternatives is a viable one."
Kyora's cheeks puffed from annoyance hearing Kou's voice. "Hey, don't hold such a high ego! It'll bite you in the butt! And if you think we're unfit to defeat you, then prove it to us!"
Alejandro smiled, "Well... Indeed." His body became transparent and barely visible in the darkness. "W-Where did he go?" Kou wondered, spreading his arms and legs, looking around with Kyora. "I-I'm not sure... don't tell me he can go invisible?"
They observed and didn't stop until a silhouette ascended from the floor behind them. "Perhaps you're wondering how I got here?"
Kyora detected Alejandro's voice, "Watch out! Behind us, Kou!" Both jumped aside, seeing Alejandro swinging his sword in between them.
Kou jumped forward, pulling his arm from underneath his waist, and punched Alejandro's face. His fist phased through Alejandro's body, followed by his whole body.
Kou found the entire event confusing, and once he managed to catch his footing, he turned around and noticed Alejandro motionless.
"I missed?" Kou questioned as Alejandro chuckled. "I didn't think you had so much struggle with accuracy, kid."
Kou's mouth shivered. "Oh, yeah?! We'll see about that!" Kou bounced on his left foot and with a roundhouse kick, hoped to come into contact, but as before, his leg phased through Alejandro's back like he didn't have a physical body.
Alejandro used that momentum to turn around and slashed his sword behind at Kou's legs. Kou became surprised, but he jumped over the blade and shifted into a backflip, landing on the ground with a squat.
Kou touched the floor and used his palms to push his body into the distance, far enough to be out of hitting range. However, when he gazed forward, Alejandro vanished. "He's gone?! How fast can he move?"
Kou nervously looked around him but never noticed Alejandro in his view.
He felt a chill run down his spine, so within an instinct, he jumped into a front roll and looked behind him, hoping to see Alejandro, only to see emptiness. "Kyora... Do you know where he is?"
Kyora made a sturdy position and kept glimpsing to the side. "No... I don't see anything." She explained, "And this darkness doesn't help."
All she could hear were strange whispers and whistling of wind inside the whole room. Some were chuckles of Alejandro that echoed from every direction. "What's so funny?! Stop hiding and fight!" Kyora shouted, but she continued to hear laughs.
"I am fighting... Don't tell me you can't see me, missy?" His voice could have been heard from multiple directions, and then blood sprayed out of Kyora's left forearm.
Her body jolted as she noticed a cut on her skin. She took a step to the side and tried to swing her arm, but all she connected with was air. She believed she had missed, but even though she had, blood suddenly spurted from her right arm, splattering over the pillar.
"Kyora!" He called in surprise, suddenly seeing Kyora's skin getting cut on her exposed thighs and her torso. "What's the matter? I thought you had the skill to beat me. But look at you... you already have 12 cuts on your body. And they don't look too good." Alejandro called while Kyora held some of her cuts. "He's like a ghost in the closet. You don't know when he'll strike or where he is..." Kyora called, standing in between the pillars.
Kou stressfully observed the area, knowing that there was no escape.
To be continued...