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Venerable readers, this is a good read.
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"You're quite the silver fox; you're more attractive than you give yourself credit for," Kevin said with a sly smile, his voice smooth and confident. The others watched, bewildered, unsure of what kind of conversation was unfolding between the two.
Verdona's eyes sparkled with amusement as she replied, "What a charmer. I'm afraid I might be a little too much for you."
Kevin's grin widened. "Oh, believe me, I hope you are."
Without missing a beat, Verdona responded, "Alright, let's go out." Her voice was playful, but there was a hint of challenge beneath it, catching everyone off guard—especially Gwen.
"What the…?" Gwen muttered, disbelief clear on her face. Was Kevin really flirting with her grandmother, or was he somehow attracted to her Anodyte form? The thought made her stomach twist in confusion.
"Hmm? Do you have the spark?" Verdona asked, her tone laced with intrigue as the two of them teleported outside, leaving a lingering flash of purple light in their wake.
Gwen and Ben tried to explain to Verdona that Kevin was an ally, but with a simple flick of her hair, Verdona sent them flying backwards, their words lost in the wind.
Kevin glanced at his shoulder, feeling an unfamiliar sensation tugging at his being. His expression shifted from casual to curious in an instant.
"How did you know what I was about to do?" Verdona questioned as they materialised outside, the cool evening air swirling around them. The sky above was a deep shade of indigo, with stars beginning to pierce through the fading light. The Tennyson family hurried outside to witness the spectacle.
"Now that we're alone, why don't you show me what…" Verdona began, her voice cutting through the night air. But before she could finish, Kevin's form vanished from her sight. She barely had time to register his disappearance before she felt a firm hand grab her hair, pulling her upward with surprising force.
With a powerful throw, Kevin sent the Anodyte soaring higher into the sky, the force of the motion creating a sonic boom that echoed through the neighbourhood. He flew after her, the wind rushing past him as he ascended.
Kevin sped past the Anodyte, who was still hurtling through the sky and extended his hands forward. Dark giant purple crystalline hands formed at either side of Verdona, poised to crush her like an insect between them.
As Kevin clapped his hands together, the massive crystalline palms slammed shut on the Anodyte, the impact so intense that it cleared the clouds from the sky, leaving a gaping hole in the atmosphere.
"Grandma!" Gwen cried out, her voice tinged with fear as she took to the air, racing towards them.
But just as quickly as the crystalline palms had closed, they shattered into countless fragments. Verdona emerged unscathed, her expression now serious as she locked eyes with Kevin.
"You possess mana, but there's something else too. You're refining life energy—both around you and within you," Verdona observed, her tone shifting from playful to analytical. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, recalling the ancient Oren Empire and its unique techniques. She knew of their extinction, but the details were sparse.
"You're strong," Verdona acknowledged, summoning a large, glowing purple blade above her, its edge gleaming ominously in the darkened sky.
"No," Kevin replied calmly, his eyes narrowing.
"You mentioned manipulating life energy around us using mana, right? That allows for both creation and destruction, doesn't it?" Kevin asked.
Verdona raised an eyebrow, amused by his sudden interest.
"You want a lecture after hitting a lady so hard? Very well, let me educate you!" she declared, bringing down the blade with a swift, decisive strike aimed directly at Kevin.
The force of the attack was so immense that the shockwaves sent Gwen plummeting from the sky, her body spinning out of control. Ben, reacting quickly, slammed his Omnitrix, transforming into a four-armed, dark blue monkey.
"Spider-Monkey!" Ben shouted, leaping high enough to catch Gwen mid-fall. He shot webs from his tail, securing them to the roof of Gwen's house and a nearby tree, effectively breaking their fall.
Meanwhile, Verdona's eyes widened in surprise as she saw her blade halted by a dark purple wing that glowed with mana, the single wing attached to Kevin's back acting as a shield against her attack.
"I'm impressed. I expected your body to break apart," Verdona admitted, her voice laced with a mixture of respect and curiosity. Without hesitation, she conjured spears of energy and launched them at Kevin with such speed that the air itself seemed to crack in their wake.
Kevin's wing propelled him through the air with remarkable agility, enabling him to make sharp turns and dodge Verdona's attacks effortlessly. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind her, his movements so swift that it was as if he had teleported.
"You're fast, but that's foolish!" Verdona said calmly, her hair suddenly extending like tendrils, binding Kevin tightly.
"Just who are you, boy?" Verdona asked, her voice tinged with suspicion as she sensed something amiss in her hair that held Kevin.
Kevin looked down, a menacing smile slowly spreading across his face.
"I heard you mention to Gwen that you're a being of pure energy. Do you know what that means to someone like me?"
"Huh?" Verdona's brow furrowed in confusion, trying to grasp what Kevin was hinting at.
"And do you know what that means for someone like you?" Kevin exclaimed, his voice rising as the tendrils of hair binding him began to thin, disintegrating within seconds until they were no more.
"You… you are…" Verdona's voice trailed off, realisation dawning too late as Kevin slammed into her, his hand gripping her throat with crushing force.
"Hahaha," Kevin chuckled darkly, his eyes glowing with a sinister purple light. The power radiating from him was palpable, a mixture of raw energy and refined mana that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of the universe.
"I would… prefer you to… buy me a drink first… before we get freaky," Verdona managed to gasp out, her voice strained as an explosion of energy from within her body sent Kevin flying backwards. Her hair, which had been damaged in the attack, regrew in real-time, her expression now one of serious intent.
"Damn it!" Kevin cursed, rubbing his face as he recovered from the blast. The air around him crackled with residual energy, a testament to the intensity of their battle.
"Don't take your eyes off your opponent!" Verdona's voice came from behind, surprising Kevin as she brought down her ominously glowing hands on his exposed back, the impact sending shockwaves through his body.
Kevin coughed up blood, the force of the blow sending him hurtling into a nearby forest. He crashed into the earth, creating a large crater as trees toppled around him. His body ached from the critical hit, and he cursed himself for underestimating her speed.
'Damn it. She was faster than me, even when I tried to dematerialise at the last second. I underestimated her,' Kevin thought, wincing as he struggled to his feet, his surroundings a blur of shattered trees and upturned soil.
"Oh, look at us on our first date, already choking each other out and breaking backs," Verdona teased, her tone light but her eyes sharp as she teleported Kevin back into the sky.
Kevin barely had time to react before Verdona prepared an uppercut, her fist glowing with energy. But Kevin had other plans.
Unfolding his left fist, Kevin released a burst of super-compressed flames he had been preparing earlier when he had been forced to taste grass and dirt. The explosion erupted in her face, a fiery response to her earlier attack.
Verdona, however, had anticipated the move. An energy field flickered to life around her, absorbing the brunt of the flames. With a quick motion, she grabbed one of Kevin's arms, her other hand reaching for his core.
Kevin's instincts screamed at him to avoid her next attack at all costs. His body dematerialised just in time, evading her grasp by mere inches.
"Smart move. I was about to shut down your mana flow," Verdona remarked, her voice calm but tinged with admiration. "For someone like you, who has more than one kind of energy flowing within, I can only imagine the irreversible effects it would've had."
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