Dion shot his blaster at the Swayer, aiming for his head. Surprisingly, the Swayer changed the trajectory of the bullet, deflecting it away from himself and towards the side.
At the same moment, he pointed his other arm towards Dion.
Before Dion could evade like Ava did, he felt an invisible force around his neck, firmly gripping him. He began choking, his eyes bulging out as his breath ceased. He was losing his life.
"Am I dying out here?" He wondered as he could no longer breathe.
[Situation getting critical]
[You have 17 points left; you can utilize them to...] Viza was saying before Dion interrupted.
"Do whatever you think is best," Dion said.
[Level 1 Prime Mode activated]
[Duration: 15 seconds]
At that same moment, Dion felt as if a new energy was pumped into him. He became very strong, stronger than he had ever been.
He could feel the invisible grip on his neck gently loosening. He could now breathe.
The Swayer noticed this and focused more of his strength to his hand, grunting. He could feel Dion's neck becoming stiffer, which was unnatural.
His determination wavered as he saw Dion rushing straight towards him, against the force he was sending towards him.
"How are you doing.... that?" The Swayer grunted, his strength weakened.
Before he could finish his statement, a thunderous punch from Dion broke his teeth. Dion's fingers, now sharper, hooked into the roof of the Swayer's mouth, while his other hand grabbed the lower jaw.
With a forceful pull, Dion broke the Swayer's jaws apart, pulling them far apart until he freed the lower jaw from his head. Blood oozed out, some falling to the ground, some staining his shirt.
[Time's over]
In that instant, Dion started feeling very weak, his limbs aching; the boost must have taken a toll on him. As the Swayer's body fell to the ground, his hands made a circular motion before finally landing on the ground.
As his hands touched the ground, a violent wind emanated from his body, sending Dion and those close by into the air, crashing into any available solid object or landing on the ground.
Dion groaned in pain as he rolled on the ground. The pain was now heavily distributed across his body.
He couldn't really tell where it was actually coming from; it was as if he had submerged into a lake of pain.
Thick dust followed after the violent wind, making the whole place barely visible. The fight ceased for another moment.
Dion tried to stand up, but his limbs were weaker than he expected; it was as if they were detached from his body. So he crawled on the ground, seeking safety for a moment.
As the dust settled, the Odds were nowhere to be found; it was as if they disappeared with the dust.
No one saw any of them after the dust arose. They searched around, but there were no traces of them, not even the reddish ash-like residue.
"I think they fled," Captain Ally said. "Let's head back to base," she announced once again. She pressed a tattoo on her neck, signaling the quadcopters to come for extraction.
"Dion? Dion?" Ava called out, although she was also hurt. Her eyes scanned everywhere.
"I'm... I'm here," he managed to reply, slightly raising a hand.
She saw him and rushed to him. "Are you good?" she asked as she lifted him from the ground, her hands circling his body looking for any potential damages, but there were none. It was some sort of internal injury.
"Can you stand up?" she asked with care. "I think I can, if you care to help," he replied with a smile.
She punched him playfully and supported him by the shoulder, lifting him up as they began walking towards where their rides were landing.
She safely led him to the quadcopter, and they took off. Their ride back home wasn't as silent as before; it was filled with groans and shouts of pain.
When they got back to base, the injured ones were taken to a medical center for treatment, including Dion. Ava also got a bed, as she was also injured but not badly. Her bed was next to his, so they had some time to talk.
"We gotta have a word with HQ about this twist, but I don't get why Captain Ally's dragging her feet on it. It's well dodgy for the Odds to have that kinda power!" Alfred said to Dion and Ava who were sitting in their beds.
"I thought you bolted at the first sign of trouble? How come a coward like you knows so much about the power you're always yapping about?" a guy by the other side retorted at Alfred.
Alfred chuckled before saying, "Can't run from somethin' if you don't even know what danger lurks, huh, Foster? I've read about 'em in books."
"So you do admit you're a coward, huh?" Foster asked once again.
"A healthy coward's better off than an extinguished brave bloke!" Alfred shot back. "I legged it so I could live to fight another day!" he added.
Foster couldn't help but laugh at what Alfred said.
"So why's Captain keepin' mum about all this? What's got her spooked?" Ava asked, expressing her confusion at Captain Ally's defiance to inform headquarters about the situation.
"She's got her reasons, I believe! Let's just wait to see what she does next," Dion replied, still leaning on his bed.
There was an unpronounceable silence among them for a few moments before Alfred broke the silence, saying, "I gotta figure out how they managed that."
"You? But it's risky, remember? Last I checked, you were allergic to danger." Foster said, making jest of Alfred.
"They've got something we ain't got, they've got a book we ain't got, I can sense it. The knowledge must be written in some book or documents. If only I could get my mitts on 'em," Alfred said, referring to no one in particular.
"How do you intend to pull that off?" Dion asked curiously.
"Leave that to the Shadow Seeker," he said as he stood up, leaving the medical room.
"What's his game, really?" Ava asked, voicing their collective curiosity.