Setting his body into overdrive, Captain Hart pulled out every ounce of power from his Galvanic gland and shot it into his legs. Though temporary, the burst of strength it gave him had enabled him to launch at an impossible speed and almost instantly catch up to his prey.
On the other hand, Henry ducked as soon as the System had told him to. Just in time also, as he felt something pass over him.
Wind rushed past a second later, almost sending him face-first into the ground.
Lifting his head, he finally understood what that was all about. In front of him was the arrogant Tamarain that had provoked him.
Wearing an officer's uniform, he invoked a mix of fear and respect inside Henry.
"What is your name, human, before I slaughter you for your crimes?!"
Not wanting to respond to his taunting words, Henry blandly replied, "Henry. Henry Calvert."
Using his alias was the better option, he thought. Probably every Tamarain soldier knew about the name Hampton, and he didn't want to unleash all hell upon himself by saying he was one.
"Well, Henry Calvert, for the crime of murdering four Tamarain soldiers and suspicion for the murder of four others, I hereby sentence you to death. Any last words?"
"Yes. You will make a fine addition to that list," Henry said, smiling in a sadistic way.
While the man had been speaking, Henry had thought about his son's death. He came upon the thought that men like him might have slain his son.
Arrogant bastards who thought they were better than most. Men who took the liberty to act as judge, jury, and executioner for all they judged unworthy of living.
The thought had riled him up, and he was now ready to die to see this man and all others like him burn in the pits of hell.
With the Tamarain dashing again at a horrendous speed, he punched Henry in the stomach, sending him flying into a nearby tree like no more than a fly that had been swatted away.
"Host has suffered heavy trauma. Do you wish to activate passive combat healing? Healing cost is doubled but can be performed while fighting."
"Yes, activate it!"
Henry got up, ready to lunge back at his opponent. He could feel the pain coming from the back of his head and from his left side ribs.
He figured he had at least one broken rib, but he couldn't stop to ponder about it now.
Getting clipped again by the crazed speedster, Henry flew off yet again, stopping on a rock this time.
"Host has suffered heavy trauma. The cost of healing has gone up. Current cost: five months of lifespan."
'Shit! Already back under a year,' he thought.
This battle was not even one. The Tamarain officer was clearly playing around with him.
When the Captain charged at him again, he managed to duck under the punch. Proud of his reaction time, he was quickly brought back to reality, seeing a kick coming in from his right.
*BANG*
The kick sent him hurtling through the air for ten meters. He then landed and tumbled for another ten before coming to a stop.
The kick had unhinged his jaw and broke many teeth along with it.
"Host has suffered heavy head trauma. Healing costs now up to one year. Does the Host want to keep passive combat healing operational?"
"Yes! I don't have a choice. If you don't heal me, we'll die anyway. Don't stop, even if it kills us."
"Affirmative."
On Captain Hart's end, this fight felt like a game of tag. He hadn't had this much fun in a while.
Playing with this weak human was entertaining, to say the least.
He knew his crew was watching through his body cam, so he showed them what could happen to the weak. He thought he killed the weak human on the first hit, but it kept returning.
So he kept hitting.
He charged at him with his usual speed, sending his galvanic energy into his fists. When he reached his target, he threw a punch in his chest.
Feeling the ribs crack under his knuckles, Captain Hart knew the fight was over.
"This is what happens to weaklings who dare challenge the Tamarain Empire," the Captain said, speaking to his crew through his body cam.
"I hope you imbeciles get the message."
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a branch crack behind him. Turning around, his jaw dropped when he saw the human get back up.
"I'm not done," Henry had said, coughing blood as he spoke and got up.
He refused to fail here. He had so much to do to avenge his son.
He couldn't possibly die here.
"Critical threshold reached. The host has only one month of lifespan left. Any other hit from the enemy will end the Host's life."
"I know. Shut up and help me instead, you dumb AI."
Henry was barely standing at this point. To the Tamarain, there was no point in tormenting him further.
Sauntering to the human, he picked him up and head-butted his face.
Feeling the man go limp in his hands, he cranked back his left hand, clenched his fist and focused his electricity into it.
"You endured well, Henry Calvert. You are weak, but you are not a coward. For this, you deserve a warrior's death. Embrace it."
Giving the man a speech and thinking he was being just, Captain Hart failed to notice the slight movement of his enemy's hand. As Henry let the System take over his arms, all he did was look the Tamarain in the eyes, wanting to imprint his face into his mind.
He vowed he would never get beaten this badly again. He would do anything and everything to get stronger.
In a swift motion, the System grabbed the knife still strapped to the back of his belt, which, by some miracle, hadn't flown away like the second one, and brought it back forward at a speed he wasn't capable of.
Captain Hart didn't have time to react when it reached him in a matter of milliseconds. The knife lodged itself through his ear and into his brain, killing him instantly.
Crumpling to the ground, the Tamarain's face was stuck into one of utter shock, fear of death embedded in his eyes.
Choosing to consume him right away, Henry yanked the knife out of the Tamarain's brain, cut the inside of his hand and slapped it to the man's ear. Feeling the suction from his hand again, he closed his eyes and relaxed.
He hoped killing that officer had scared the rest of the ship's crew enough to lead them away.
After a minute, he heard two distinct notifications in his head, the second raising his brow.
"Research progress on Galvanic gland 10%. Genetic material assimilated. New life span being calculated. Lifespan is now estimated at two years."
"Two YEARS?! What the hell?! That's a huge jump!"
"Host has consumed class C fighter. The blood of a class C fighter is richer in energy because of a larger development of the Galvanic gland."
"Wow. Perfect, just perfect."
Meanwhile, on the ship, there was utter panic. Their commanding officer was gone, and no one wanted to take command.
The three lieutenants were pushing responsibilities to the next in a never-ending cycle.
What brought an end to their quarrel was an alarm going off. It was the proximity alarm. A human ship was arriving, and they had to leave ASAP.
Going back to their usual disciplined selves, a lieutenant took charge.
"Drop a bomb to eliminate the human called Henry Calvert. Then we are leaving."
"Sir, Yes, Sir!!!!"
Back on the ground, Henry noticed the ship flying closer overhead. Seeing a drop door open on the ship's underbelly, he had an ominous feeling.
Looking around, he spotted a crater caused by one of his latest victim's flybys. Painfully dragging himself and the Captain's body over, he rolled into the hole and covered himself with the body.
Shortly after, he heard a whistle in the wind, growing louder until... nothing.
*BOOOM*
Fire blazed in every direction when the bomb detonated, leaving nothing behind but a burnt forest and charred remains.