"They could've at least given him a bed..." Atamai's voice chimed in through Kimberley's earbuds.
"Poor kid..." Kimberley murmured. She tried to open the cell, but the vibrational bars remained impassive.
"Still won't open. Any ideas?" Kimberley asked, frustration seeping into her voice.
"Well...before Sir Holland left, he cut his index finger, and it looked like he touched something, but I couldn't see what it was..." Atamai replied.
"Hmm...could've been in vibrational form. There's only so much that you can see from there..." Kimberley mused. She spotted a touchpad lock on the cell. With a quick, sharp bite on her index finger, she smeared her blood onto the lock.
The vibrational bars disappeared, and Kimberley punched the air in triumph. "Yes!"
"That's right...you're his..." Atamai remembered, her voice trailing off in realisation.
Out in the courtyard, Alko was sprawled atop a heap of unconscious officers. He looked bored. His fun had ended too quickly.
"What a waste of time..." Alko muttered to himself. But his attention was quickly piqued as Kimberley emerged from the building, Udo's unconscious body slung across her back.
"Alko! Let's go!" Kimberley called, and Alko swiftly joined her.
"Ooo you got him?" Alko asked, matching Kimberley's pace.
"Yeah!" Kimberley replied. "Ren's outside waiting for us. Hurry."
But just as they neared the gate, Kimberley pulled Alko back. "Look out!" She cried.
Before Alko could respond, a volley of fiery projectiles rained down, crashing into the gate with a thunderous explosion. The shockwave sent them flying backwards, bodies twirling through the air as dust and smoke rose in a menacing cloud...
As the dust settled and the smoke dissipated, Kimberley and Alko struggled back to their feet, their bodies aching from the shockwave. But their attention was soon diverted by a figure emerging from the still flickering flames.
A cloaked man walked towards them, his gait steady despite the chaos around him. The cloak fell away as he stepped into the clear, revealing a face they both recognised all too well.
Sir Edgar Holland.
A bitter chuckle escaped Kimberley's lips, her voice dripping with disdain. "Would you look at that? The piece of shit himself shows up."
"Kim, that's..." Atamai's voice was a mere whisper in Kimberley's ear, but she cut her off, affirming, "Yep."
Beside Kimberley, Alko's eyes danced with a mischievous glint. "Sir Holland, the head of the Dove Corporation himself," he observed with a smirk, his voice betraying his amusement.
"Never knew he had a fire ability."
Kimberley's expression turned grim. "That wasn't a fire ability. He used Explosive Vibration."
Alko frowned, his tone incredulous. "What? And he's still standing?"
Sir Holland fixed them with an icy, penetrating stare. "Who the fuck are you guys... and what do you think you're doing?" His voice held an edge of restrained fury.
"None of your business," Kimberley shot back defiantly. "Don't get in our way."
Sir Holland's voice was low and measured, each word dripping with menace. "Well, I mean... it kinda is my business, isn't it?"
Kimberley's face twisted in anger. "What you want to do to him is stupid. The first Fiend host caught in years and you want to execute him just like that?"
"That's what we're supposed to do," Sir Holland stated coldly. "We're Dove hosts. Our job is to protect the people from any potential threats to the well-being of the kingdom. People who align themselves with evil spirits are among said threats. So when we get the chance to take them down, we do it."
"Well, I think that's a dumb idea," Kimberley retorted.
Sir Holland's voice was dripping with condescension. "Unfortunately, I didn't ask for your opinion, kid. Now hand him over to me, before I resort to extreme measures."
Kimberley's jaw tightened. "In your dreams."
"It wasn't a question. It was an order," Sir Holland warned, his voice steely. He slowly raised a finger to the sky. "One."
Kimberley's hands swiftly came together, readying herself. "Kalo-"
Atamai's urgent voice cut through her focus. "Kim, stop! He'll realize who you are if you use any of your abilities. Just hand him over. We've lost."
Kimberley's jaw tightened, her defiance palpable. "Fuck no."
Atamai's plea was fraught with desperation. "Kim! We can't fight him. We don't stand a chance!"
"We don't need to fight him..." Kimberley murmured, determination clear in her eyes.
"Two," Sir Holland's voice was cold and emotionless.
Quickly, almost imperceptibly, Kimberley's hand darted into her waist bag, pulling out a rubber ball.
"Ata, on my signal," she whispered, her focus laser-sharp.
Atamai's voice held an edge of panic. "Kim, stop!"
"On. My. Signal," Kimberley reiterated, every word punctuated for emphasis.
"Three." There was no hesitation in Sir Holland's voice. In a swift movement, he levelled his shotgun at both Kimberley and Alko.
But as Kimberley moved to act on her plan, a blur of purple dashed past her. Time seemed to slow as Sir Holland's eyes widened in shock and realization. Udo, radiating a dark purple aura, appeared behind him...
"No..." Kimberley's voice was a mere whisper, the horror evident.
Sir Holland's eyes widened in a mix of surprise and dread. The normally unflappable man was taken off guard.
"What?" he gasped, more to himself than anyone else.
With a swift, calculated movement, Udo stretched out his right arm, fingers splayed and reaching, intending to ensnare his prey. However, Sir Holland's reflexes weren't dulled by the surprise; with an agile roll, he evaded Udo's grasp. As he found himself momentarily prostrate on the ground, Sir Holland took his shot, the sharp crack of a gunshot piercing the quiet night.
But Udo, with supernatural speed, launched himself upwards, evading the bullet with ease.
Like a predatory bird, he dove downwards towards Sir Holland, but the latter had already scrambled to his feet and darted away just in time.
For a breathless moment, the two adversaries locked eyes. The intensity of their staredown was palpable, neither willing to show weakness or uncertainty.
"Sir Holland," Udo murmured to himself, his voice barely audible, "Head of the Europa Dove Corporation, and possibly the strongest man in the kingdom."
Sir Holland, mentally analyzing his opponent, silently mused, "Udo Iche. The last remaining member of the revered Iche Clan. But more significantly, the offspring of the legendary Eze Iche, the strongest man ever known."
As they circled each other, a rush of thoughts flooded their minds. Udo knew he had an advantage up close. "He may be a sharpshooter," Udo thought, "but if I'm in his face, that gun's as good as useless."
Sir Holland, fully aware of Udo's close combat prowess, strategized, I cannot let him get close. His family is known for their unmatched wrestling skills. Distance is my ally here.
Their simultaneous, determined thoughts merged into a singular conviction. Both their lips moved, a mirror image of determination, "I can win this. I will win this."
In a blur of motion, Udo vanished from his spot. Sir Holland's eyes darted around, trying to track the high-speed movements of his adversary. The courtyard transformed into a dizzying whirlwind as Udo ricocheted off light poles and stone pillars, his form nothing more than a shimmering spectre darting in and out of shadows.
Sir Holland took a deep breath, bringing his fingers together to form a steeple, and murmured a single word, "Benedi: 360."
Suddenly, Sir Holland's perception shifted, allowing him to witness everything surrounding him in a panoramic view. The courtyard, bathed in moonlight, was filled with multiple images of Udo, approaching from all directions.
Without warning, Udo lunged from behind, his movement a streak of lightning. But to his utter disbelief, Sir Holland, with uncanny speed, whirled around, gun aimed squarely at Udo's chest. The deafening sound of a gunshot echoed, yet Udo had already flickered away, avoiding the potentially lethal bullet.
Sir Holland, his face contorted in bewilderment, exclaimed, "What in the world?"
This game of cat and mouse continued. Udo, like a phantom, sought every potential angle of attack, while Sir Holland, with his enhanced senses, countered each move. Every time Udo pounced, Sir Holland was there, ready to strike.
But it was during one such feint that Udo noticed something crucial—Sir Holland's gun was a double-barrel shotgun, and it needed reloading.
"That's right," Udo thought with a smug satisfaction, noting Sir Holland's fingers working swiftly to reload the weapon. "Next time he reloads, he's mine."
Udo, a blur of motion, danced around Sir Holland, using his surrounding environment as a deadly choreography. He seemed like a predator, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
With a sudden burst of speed, Udo charged. But as if they were engaged in a well-rehearsed dance, Sir Holland promptly aimed and fired. Yet Udo, with his remarkable agility, flickered out of the bullet's trajectory, leaving it to harmlessly pierce the air.
The same sequence of events unfolded once again, Udo's lunge met by Sir Holland's bullet.
But this time, as the echoing blast of the shotgun rang out, Udo sensed an opportunity.
"He's taken his second shot," Udo's thoughts raced, "this is my moment..."
Wasting no time, Udo kicked off a nearby pole and hurtled himself back towards Sir Holland, who was engrossed in reloading his weapon. "You're mine!" Udo declared triumphantly.
But just as Udo felt victory was within his grasp, Sir Holland's lips curled into a cunning smirk. "Vibration Division," he whispered with menace.
Before Udo's eyes, the double-barrel shotgun in Sir Holland's grip split and morphed into two separate weapons. As the second shotgun took aim at a stunned Udo, the realization hit him, but it was already too late.
"Got you!" Sir Holland roared, pulling the trigger. Udo caught off guard, couldn't entirely evade the shot. He made a desperate move, spinning around Sir Holland, narrowly sliding past him but not entirely unscathed.
Onlookers Kimberley and Alko, watching the high-octane face-off, struggled to process the sheer speed of the combatants.
Alko, wide-eyed and barely catching his breath, remarked, "Fucking insane. I could hardly track their moves."
Kimberley, her face taut with worry, added, "They're probably the two strongest in the kingdom right now. This won't end without scars..."
In the aftermath of their rapid dance of bullets and dodges, the courtyard became momentarily still. Udo, with a wince of pain, gingerly removed the bullet embedded in his shoulder, his face contorted with the agony of the moment.
Sir Holland, mused aloud, "Thinking I had an opening when I reloaded was your first mistake. I've trained to use such moments to my advantage. It never fails."
Udo grimaced, his eyes sharpening with determination. Sir Holland was a puzzle unlike any he'd faced. "His reaction speed, his lack of blind spots... I'll need to overwhelm him entirely if I want to stand any chance of touching him. I guess it's time." Udo thought, a plan slowly forming in his mind.
Drawing a deep breath, Udo clasped his hands together with a resonating thud. "Kalo: Power Mike," he intoned.
The earth trembled, creating an ominous ambience. Sir Holland's confident stance faltered, his eyes widening with a hint of dread as he whispered, "What...?"
A deafening crack resounded as the ground behind Udo ruptured, and from the abyss emerged the colossal Power Mike. Towering at eight feet, he burst forth with a roar that resonated throughout the penitentiary. Its glowing red eyes locked onto Sir Holland, each gaze a promise of impending doom.