Akira charged mindlessly before anyone could stop him, bringing him a fatal kick to the stomach. It sent him crashing into a pile of boxes across the room. Ruthless came to her senses.
"You were alive this whole time...? How did you even...It doesn't matter. I will confirm you and the traitor's death by remaking both of you into Mechs. Lifeless but loyal. How does that sound?"
Akira exerted a loud grunt, scrambling back up as quick as possible. "You can starve me and tie me up for days...But I'm seriously going to lose it if you touch Two." Then again, he focused all thoughts on Ruthless, and lunged for any chance to slice her. However Ruthless was much more faster than he was; he couldn't manage to land a single hit. Nova hesitated to assist him, and watched Akira receive another blow to the face, knocking him to the ground again.
Akira gritted his teeth, forcing himself back to his feet. He couldn't afford to let her get into his head. He narrowed his eyes at his opponent, learning, and adapting to her kicks. They were fluid, complimentry to the strength Ruthless wielded. If he could close in, he might have a chance.
Dodging another flashy attack, Akira stormed to the side of Ruthless. He plunged his dagger deliberatley into the ground before her, disrupting her train of thought.
She muttered under her breath. "What are you.."
Akira wrapped both hands around her head, and brought it to his knee. A loud crunch echoed around the basement, followed by a silence. The silence lasted for a couple seconds, until Ruthless roared, filled with rage. As she raised her head, blood gushed out from her broken, bloody nose. Her knuckles cracked, and the area surrounding her ruptured with electricity. Hairs began to rise while the ground rumbled, causing everyone but Ruthless to lose their balance. Nova gasped silently.
[ Ruthia has activated: Forcery_Manipulation: Omnipresence]
[ Skill used is referred to as Forcery Manipulation. A Force can come in endless shapes and sizes, and are unique to the caster. ]
'Well I need a bit more info than that...'
[ The requirements to unlock a Force are unique to the caster. ]
"You need to die before it's too late," she remarked.
Akira smirked. "You suppose you can kill me after failing once already?"
"I don't make the same mistake twice."
With that, she faced Akira, who raised his fists in defense. His eyes then widened, widened because Ruthless was no longer in front of him in that moment.
"Perish."
The boy wasn't fast enough to realise, only to hear the voice behind him. He felt a heavy leg clock against the back of his head, then everything went black.
"I'm not...going to...lose..."
THUD.
[ Would the Host like to scan Ruthia's Forcery Manipulation? Y/N ]
After having confirmed Yes, Nova scoffed at the screen awaiting him.
[ Scan failed. {Omnipresence} is unique to Ruthia Emrys only. ]
[ Immediate Quest
Avenge Akira. ]
[ EoJ has been activated. ]
"You did well, student."
[ Rage is active. ]
"Now allow me to end this."
Ruthless vanished as soon as she appeared, countless times. It was as if her Force allowed her to move at a speed invisible to the human eye. But Nova's eyes were different. He could see her movements just fine, and even with {Rage}, he struggled to defend against the barrage of kicks. They cut through the air, generating sparks that illuminated the room in a blue hue.
"How are you holding up, eh?" said she.
"Clearly better than you. You're exhausted.." Nova was right. Forcery Manipulation was no easy feat. However, it seemed her strength was growing far faster than her stamina was draining.
"Not going to use that gun of yours?
"I know it'll be useless against the likes of you."
Not another second passed before the two threw strikes at each other. Their weapons clashed, jumping back and forth between carefully prepared evasions and critical kicks. Ruthless' speed exponentially increased by ten fold, and unfortunately for the underpowered Nova, even his eyes were struggling to read her movements. Even so, he kept his pressure on, steering sketchily to victory..
Despite all his efforts, Nova would suddenly come to realise that victory was just inches away from his grasp. Alarms sound the hallways and echo across their arena. The sprinklers go off, drenching all 4 of the basement dwellers in freezing water. The man lost his balance for a split second: a split second too long. Ruthless raised her foot high, ready to end the battle once and for all.
Everyone paused. Footsteps were heard coming the staircase. All but a flame could be seen through the darkness.
"My last one...guess this will be over quick."
Several bullets whizzed past Nova and pierced Ruthless across her chest.
"How-?" She spat out a glob of red before staggering back. Each of her limbs twitched with flashes of a glowing energy running through her veins.
"It's..."
Shane let out a puff as he reached the bottom of the staircase. "Let's get this done already."
Ruthless scaled across the floor like some sort of animal, and leaped onto Shane, knocking him onto the ground. She filled his gut, slamming her knuckles into him with ape-like fury. They rolled to the wall then Ruthless swatted his gun from his palm. Nova watched as it slid to his feet, sparkling like some sort of heavenly reward. He picked it up. The clocks in his brain whirred and clanked: Nova searched for the best way to put an end to this fight, but nothing seem to come to mind.
"Nova, the gun! The gun!"
That's when it hit him. As soon as he could, he snapped the suppressor from the glock, leaving a gaping hole down the barrel. He threw it without a second thought. The gun almost floated through the air, it spun and spun and spun...landing beside the couple scrambling around. Shane reached out and grabbed it. Ruthless screeched, however her mouth refused to close afterwards. Looking down, she witnessed the barrel of the gun lodged deep in her throat.
=====BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG=====
He unloaded the whole clip.
"ARRUGHHAHHH---!"
Another scream escaped her lips, this time less menacingly and more fearfully. Ruthless' hands darted to her jaw, and the woman fell onto her back. The energy running through clustered up and consumed her whole, resulting in a miniature implosion acting on her body. It twitched a few times, before going cold.
"For Christ's sake, she ruined my jacket." Shane dusted off his blazer, getting up and approaching Two, who was cowering in fear. He broke the her shackles, and she scurried to Akira's side. The boy's eyes fluttered open.
"Damn you Ruthia....Ruthia-!"
"She's dead," Shane responded, with a pissed tone.
"Eh? Already? I mean- I didn't even-.... I was useless."
Nova came from behind, putting an arm on his student's shoulder. His muscles relaxed in return.
"Don't sweat it, kid. You did your best."
"The hell I did. I didn't do anything." He shrugged him off, and made his way towards the exit, holding Two's hand and guiding her outside. Nova sighed. It was understandable to feel that way, but even going against her was progress. Just a couple months ago, he didn't even wanna hear her name in his presence. Nova and Shane eventually followed out too.
***
"Uhh...What the hell..?" The group stared at the spot their car was previously parked in, now replaced with a fancy, slick black 7-seater truck. The back two seats covered in duffel bags of cash. Shane, as nonchalantly as ever, entered the driver seat without a second to waste.
"After I defeated that bot, a couple guards from the outside came for me. I dealt with them and copped as much as I could in the boot before I came to assist you guys."
They stood in awe. "What are you waiting for? The police will be here any second."
***
"Two's condition seems to be stabilizing. She'll be fine once she gets a bit of rest," Shane gave a heads up to Akira, before leaving Akira in the room with her. He took a seat beside her, watching her chest rise and fall soundly.
"I'm such an idiot...How did I let you end up like this? If it wasn't for Nova, I'd be..." He paused to think. "Where would I be...?"
Meanwhile, Nova and Shane sit opposite to a table piled with stacks of money. Nova placed down the last wad.
"450,000J....That's insane. What do we do with it?"
"Invest, of course. Then we can buy a big enough estate for the 4 of us, maybe even bigger."
"But, how? I mean, none of us know how to-"
"I know a guy. Name's Eli, narcissist he is. I should be able to contact him in the next couple days."
"...Well...that's solved." However, Nova cut a portion from the pile and dragged it to himself. "But....I guess we can work around leaving a little bit for us to share with. Surely, we can be a bit greedy, am I wrong?"
His wide grin quickly vanished, and his hands trembled. Sweats ran - no, ran was an understatement. Sweats darted down his face like a cold.
[ Immediate Quest
Avenge Akira.
Failed. ]
[ Transporting Host's data into the Nexus Plane. ]
***
One minute he was in the living quarters, and Shane was asking him what was wrong. Now, he was laying in the middle of a familiar misty metallic chamber.
"Don't tell me-!"
As quick as he could, Nova rose, whipping his head around and seeing the endless number of Mechs surrounding a glitch. The expression of fear, mixed with a hint of annoyance washed over his face.
"Not this again...Huh?"
He reviewed the notification again, and again, and again. "Avenge Akira...By killing Ruthless, right...? But Ruthless is dead...? Something's not adding up. Hold on...."
The Mechs ignored his mutterings. With an orderly fashion, they marched towards him.
[ Eminence has been activated. ]
The pressure in that dimension at that moment could be compared to the aura of a Deity. The prescence of Karma overwhelmed, overwrote, overpowered his underlings. Somehow and someway, the inferiors felt fear, despite being composed of ones and zeros. One code significantly surpassed the other ones.
[ Kneel or Die. ]
Nova crossed his legs. His whole being emitted authority. "I said hold on," his voice directive and taciturn.
"Let me think."