"What did you mean when you told me to compare my individuality to my Salan ability?" I asked.
"I don't know. It just came out of my mouth when I used my ability. I think it has something to do with one's ability and the process to get used to it and make it stronger." She answered.
30 minutes had already passed since we started crossing the bridge to Central Superio. We came to a halt when Tsuki suddenly stopped in her tracks. She went pale, shivered and started sweating.
"He's here." She said.
"Who is?" I tried to find out.
"Commander Reus. He was Melina's father. The girl who you.." I interrupted her "I know. Tell me, what does your intuition say?"
"It says to fight the danger. It also tells me, that he's alone. Be warned, he's also a Bearer who possesses the ability to make objects invisible."
"Show yourself Reus! I'm the one who killed your girl. Let's settle this matter." I yelled at him.
He appeared from behind a car. He was 180 centimeters tall with defined muscles. He was bald but had a thick brown beard.
"Ex-military, huh?" I asked.
"Yes." He answered in a sad tone.
"I know you want to avenge you daughter's death, but you're the one responsible for it. What father sends his daughter into a city where hostile Bearers might appear? With that kind of equipment too... A revolver from over a century ago?" I pulled out the revolver I took from Melina.
Commander Reus' eyes widened in surprise. The revolver clearly meant something to him.
"Her ability to make other's Mana signature disappear had only one flaw: The person being watched by that ability, can still feel if they're being watched. When I revealed, that I'd figured her ability out, she ordered her companions to kill me. Didn't you teach your daughter to not give orders to kill if she's being held hostage?" I said, making slightly fun of her to get Reus' emotions riled up.
"You're right, it was all my fault but as her father I have to avenge her. I shall kill you, then myself, so my girl's soul can rest." Reus said, with an expressionless face.
'He must've seen some shit in the war.' I thought.
I unsheathed my Katana as he took on a stance, that was meant for close-combat knife fights. His Salan ability to make objects invisible gave him hundreds of possibilities.
"Stand back!" I ordered Tsuki.
She nodded and stepped back.
I held my Katana in my right hand. I held the blade normally and used a stance, that gave me more range. 'My first fight against another Bearer.'
I made myself 'lighter', using my Salan ability. With a powerful push, I cleared the distance between me and him in and instant. He was surprised by my speed but he didn't react. I stopped in my tracks and took 3 steps back. I pulled out the non-chipped Shoto and threw it at his legs.
*Clang*
The Shoto crashed into an invisible wall, most likely a shield.
"You are the bridge's real guardian, aren't you? And this is your castle filled with invisible shields and weapons."
"I must congratulate you for finding out. There has never been an invader that lived to know about it." He answered.
"What do you know about my Salan ability?" I asked him, curious about how much he knew.
"An ability that make you stronger and faster. Reports say you lifted the rubble of a house and caught up to my daughter in seconds." He answered.
"Your mistake was letting me live. My ability will make your castle crumble." I said, realizing that the fight was decided.
I moved behind a car carefully and then placed my hands on the ground. I closed my eyes and concentrated until I saw the 3D map of the environment. I started to see his invisible objects. There were spears, shields and spikes on the ground. I was lucky to have not been injured. Above us, the bridge's Arches. I sent Mana into the objects he made invisible and into a single point directly above him. In an instant, my Mana appeared where I sent it, and using half the Mana in my core, I activated my ability, making the bridge vibrate. All the objects started to gravitate upwards into the gravitation point I assigned. All his defenses gone in an instant. The duration I could hold it up for was 5 minutes, then the Mana in the gravitation point would disappear and the objects would fall down.
Seeing his defenses gravitate upwards, Reus finally showed a sign of helplessness on his face.
"I made the worm come out the ground, be sure not to get hit by the rain." I said and laughed at the face he made. "Do you regret not killing me earlier?"
I jumped at him again, this time there was nothing he could hide behind of. I swung my blade downwards at his arm. He stepped back and pulled something out from his side. His stance told me, that he was holding a short-sword that was longer than my Shoto.
I didn't want to give him time. Pressuring the opponent was the core part of the Space Entity style. I swung my blade in different directions but every time I did, I had to make sure he wouldn't use another blade to counter my swing.
My 5th try was successful, I was able to cut his chest horizontally. The deep wound showed his ribs and muscles.
'This should make him slower and even more defensive' I thought.
We were standing directly under the gravity point and I wouldn't let this advantage escape. While I swung my blade at him, I pointed down with my left finger and a spear started falling at him. He sensed his spear, but it was too late. The spear pierced his right shoulder and came out his armpit.
"AAAHH!" He yelled in pain.
"This pain is nothing compared to what your faceless-fucker did to me. I hope he didn't die when I made the hospital collapse."
My words had to have affected him because he started to look angry. His face became red from anger and he screamed again. "BAAAH!"
"You did what to the hospital?"
"I don't like repeating myself. That reminds me, I told your worthless daughter the same thing." I provoked him again, taking advantage of his anger.
This time, he ran at me and swung his invisible short-sword wildly at me.
"Too predictable." I said and disarmed him by using the back-side of my Katana to hit his fingers. He tried grabbing my arm but a front-kick to the chin made him lose consciousness.
"I won, I thought it would be harder. I would normally have 2 minutes left until the objects fall back down again but I'll lengthen the time to pay back the pain you caused me." I said as I sent more Mana to the gravitation point, that held up the objects.
I touched Reus' arms and legs and created a separate gravitation point for them. I activated my Salan ability, made his arms and legs vibrate and then slapped him awake.
*Slap*
Reus tried to move but the gravitational pull on his limbs was stronger than his strength.
"Tsuki, I'll pay him back. Watch if you want. If you stay as my companion you might see this more often, so start to get used to it, okay?" I said, warning Tsuki that I would torture Reus now.
"I-I..I'll watch" She said, stuttering.
She came closer to me and the defenseless Reus. I unsheathed my chipped Shoto and started to cut off his ears. He screamed in pain and tried closing his mouth to bite down on his tongue. I cut his jaw-muscles, leaving his mouth hanging open for the remainder of the payback. I stabbed his eyes, blinding him, cut off his fingers and toes. He was still alive after 10 minutes of torture. I had 2 minutes left until the objects came back down again.
I pulled out my Katana from it's sheathe and cut off his limbs one by one. Tsuki already had enough and walked towards Central Superio. I stood up and walked to her, snapped my finger and laughed as the objects crashed down on Reus, piercing and crushing him.