Dan activated his time dilation ability to its maximum limits, feeling the world around him slow down as he approached the man holding Melisa's brother hostage. With deliberate care, he gently removed the man's hand from the child's neck, ensuring the safety of the innocent boy. Sensing the potential danger the man posed, Dan chose not to engage in a direct confrontation, opting instead to prioritize the child's safety. He also wanted to conserve his energy if the fight escalated further. Once the child was out of harm's way, Dan deactivated his time dilation and called out to Melisa.
"He's fine, Melisa!" He raised his voice to attract her attention. He had deliberately positioned himself at a safe distance, away from the potential crossfire. The sight of him with her brother should have elicited a reaction, but Melisa remained lost in her thoughts, her expression unchanged.
Silence engulfed the scene as everyone, including Brad and the other onlookers, stared in astonishment at the unexpected turn of events.
"What the...?!" The man who had been holding Melisa's brother hostage stared in disbelief, his hands now empty. Even the child seemed bewildered by the sudden turn of events, unsure how to react to the sudden teleportation.
Melisa's anger blazed in her eyes as she snapped out of her daze, her focus now fully on the man before her. Realizing he stood no chance against her, he attempted to flee, desperate to escape the consequences of his actions. But his attempts were in vain as Melisa swiftly brought him down, his body crashing onto the ground with a resounding thud.
With seemingly effortless strength, she pinned him down, her grip tightening around the hand he had used to harm her brother, causing him to cry out in pain and plead for mercy.
"I'm sorry!! Please, don't do it! Please!" the man begged, his voice filled with desperation and remorse.
Melisa's rage momentarily subsided as she considered his plea. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she released her grip on his hand and stood up. Firmly grasping his arm, she forced him to rise to his feet as well.
Dan watched in disbelief as Melisa calmly stepped back from the man she had just defeated, refusing to take his life despite what he had done. He could feel the rage boiling inside him and couldn't understand how she could let him go so easily. "Why did you stop?" he asked, unable to contain himself. "You're just going to let him walk away?"
"Of course not," Melisa replied firmly, her eyes locked on the man who was now cowering in front of her. "He will face justice. But I can't take it into my own hands."
Dan was speechless for a moment. "What are you talking about?" His confusion was evident. "The world has gone to shit. What kind of justice will he face?"
"You wouldn't understand, Dan," Melisa replied coolly. "But trust me, I'll explain later."
When Dan didn't immediately back down, she added more firmly: "I'll take care of it. Don't worry - it's not the end of the world."
Dan was speechless again as he couldn't understand her reasoning and looked to others for help, hoping they would back him up. But no one said anything, choosing to remain silent as if agreeing with her.
Dan knew the consequences of letting your enemies live so he was going to argue further when a sudden energy shift caught his attention. It was a familiar sensation, reminiscent of when Melisa had activated her powers, but this time, it felt magnified, stronger than before.
Foresight activated as his vision was filled with a dangerous attack coming from behind. He grabbed the kid and immediately moved out of the way but then realized that Melisa and the guy would be hit by it. His prediction was proven true as a lethal projectile struck the guy directly. He didn't even have time to scream as the impact obliterated his upper body into a million pieces. It was turned into mist as it rained down and steam rose from the remains of his lower abdomen and legs before they collapsed lifelessly.
Dan expected the same fate for Melisa but was shocked to see her completely unscathed. She had the same expression as him as steaming gore and blood slowly slid down her glowing armor, leaving not a single mark. Dan knew that he would have barely survived the attack, if at all, and realized how much more powerful Melisa was compared to him.
His thoughts were interrupted by someone's voice, carrying a strange reverberation as if coming from a machine. He looked toward the source and found himself staring at an imposing humanoid figure. It towered over him by at least two and a half feet and carried something in one of its hands - likely the source of the attack. He would have assumed it to be a person if not for the unnatural height and strange armor it wore, from head to toe. As he observed it more, he realized it to be the same armor he saw in his vision of the stranger's death. He wanted to ask the stranger but his attention was drawn to the words coming from the newcomer.
"@!ief...be...^|ea#d" It was a language he had never heard but it almost sounded like broken English to him.
"How are..." Melisa murmured something to herself before turning back and shouting as she saw the enemy taking a step forward. "Everyone! Run away!!"
Dan observed as Melisa bravely confronted the enemy, assuming a defensive stance as if she had encountered it before. He joined the others as they heeded her warning and quickly moved away, creating distance between themselves and the new enemy. Dan entrusted Melisa's brother to Brad, knowing that he would keep him safe.
As the only other individual with powers present, Dan prepared himself for the possibility of needing to intervene, watching intently as the enemy made its move. But it became apparent that the figure's sole focus was directed at Melisa, sparing the others from immediate danger.
Melisa moved her hand to her back to reach for something but her fingers only caught air as she didn't have her weapon. Realizing that she needed to fight up close and finish it quickly so as not to endanger others, she moved swiftly towards it. However, the enemy responded by taking aim once more and firing its peculiar weapon.
Melisa ignored it, expecting her shield will do the work of defending the attack and sure enough, a replica of herself, composed of radiant light, materialized before her.
The attack was too fast and powerful to be deflected so the copy held a shield in front, to protect its host. In the past, no assault had been able to penetrate the copy's defenses, bolstering Melisa's confidence.
But in the next instant, the replica and its shield were completely obliterated, dissipating into fading particles that seemed to vanish from existence. The entire sequence unfolded within a fraction of a second, no one realizing what had happened - except Dan. His curiosity and alertness deepened as he understood that it was no ordinary enemy. He also wanted to know about the connection between it and the stranger.
Melisa stopped in her tracks as a searing pain shot through her body. She had never experienced anything like it before, she didn't even know that her active armor could even be nullified. It became clear that this adversary posed a grave threat, one, unlike anything she had encountered before. Determined not to falter, she gathered her resolve and prepared for the next exchange.
The enemy stood its ground and fired again, prompting Melisa to narrowly avoid it in time. The speed of the projectile surpassed even her heightened reflexes, and she felt the intense heat of the projectile as it grazed past her shield, striking the wall of a nearby building. Panic surged within her as she instinctively looked behind to ensure the safety of those nearby, relieved to find that no one had been harmed.
However, the impact of the projectile had left a gaping hole in the building's wall, revealing a distinct pattern. Two concentric circles connected by a line at the top formed a design that appeared intentional. The sheer intensity of the heat generated by the projectile had melted the surrounding materials, giving the hole a deliberate and designed appearance.
Melisa's astonishment grew as she assessed the extent of the damage caused by the enemy's powerful projectile. The fact that they possessed such powerful weapons, distinct from their previous melee attacks and magic, caught her off guard. Her memories of their encounters did not include any indication of such technology.
Undeterred by the surprise, Melisa pressed forward, determined to engage the enemy in close combat. However, her attack missed its mark as the enemy swiftly sidestepped, vanishing from sight as if it had slipped out of existence. Caught off balance by the sudden disappearance, Melisa quickly turned and assumed a defensive stance, preparing for the imminent attack.
As anticipated, the scorching heat of the projectile assailed her once again. She was saved by the multiple copies materializing to protect her but all of them were obliterated, just like before. Her energy reserves were immense but she felt as if even she wouldn't last for that long.
So she attacked again, with reckless abandon to land any hit on the enemy. But she her fists only met air as it disappeared with the same move. At first, she had assumed it to be extremely fast movement or teleportation but it looked entirely different from the magic she had seen them use before.
Dan watched on as the fight raged on. He had thought about interjecting but decided against it as the powers on display seemed too out of his reach. It seemed like Melisa was struggling to land any hit on the enemy, failing to grasp how he was able to move so quickly. He thought the enemy was employing time dilation at first but the evidence he saw suggested otherwise. Melisa must not have noticed in the heat of the battle but for a fraction of a second, the enemy seemed to exist in two places. More precisely, a part of his body appeared in a different location before the rest followed suit. It didn't look like teleportation, it was as if the two places were connected and it was just stepping through a doorway of sorts. He could sense the fluctuation in energy just before it happened.
"It can create portals?" He thought to himself.
'That's a possibility but,' the stranger said, 'it could also be something else.' He paused as if deliberating over what he was about to say. 'It might exist in higher dimensions which would allow it to seemingly be everywhere.'
Dan raised an eyebrow at the absurdity of the stranger's claim but he couldn't dismiss it entirely.
'Whatever the case may be,' the stranger continued, 'she seems to be well-trained and knows a lot more about what's going on.'
Dan's attention was drawn to Melisa's movements and the way she carried herself like she had been in many fights before. He had personally fought people who were familiar with violence so her way of fighting stood out more to him. This was not her first time facing such an enemy.
'She is also extremely powerful, considering she is able to maintain limit break for so long.' The stranger pondered. 'If what the system said is true, then there's a possibility that...'
"That's too much of a coincidence." Dan interrupted him, understanding the implication.
Unfazed by the interruption, the stranger pressed on, seeking Dan's perspective. 'If it turns out to be true,' he asked, 'what do you intend to do?'
Dan fell silent, his gaze fixed on the ongoing battle before him. He left the decision up to his future self, there were far too many unknown factors at this point.