The first name that popped up in Kai's mind as he saw this new enemy was Iron Man.
Meg had told him about the basic facts from the Marvel timelines, just enough to go on in case of random encounters. She knew little about the vast timeline herself, and even the strongest organizations had yet to explore the mysteries lingering in its corners thoroughly.
And knowing this was the exact reason that had puzzled him.
Where was the usual red and yellow? Why was this suit, if it was a suit, looked more beast than a human? Why was it so big?
Kai felt as if Andrik had come to him, wearing the bulkiest armor he could find in the entirety of Westeros.
The metallic suit was gray, and it spoke of nothing but power.
Raw power.
"Blessing?!" a voice boomed out of the iron suit, guessing the reason behind Kai's Golduck appearance.
Kai narrowed his eyes. Before he could take action, the iron man lifted his hand, pointing at him. A dangerous feeling bubbled inside him, and in the next moment, a jet of scorching flame shot out, trying to burn him to ashes.
Kai danced away, slithering low over the deck, the remaining needles still revolving around him.
The Iron Man's hand didn't follow, and it seemed extremely slow to Kai, too. But what he saw next made him give up distancing himself from it. The flames weren't meant for him, Kai concluded, raging. The heat had meant for the freezing red-haired man, who was now standing up, panting. There was something about those flames which made even the intangible serpents melt away.
A figure landed behind the two 4th-floor Contestants, then.
It was a paper-Meg.
From the starboard and port, two blue figures climbed up, thrashing their tails — paper-Golduck-Kai. Another blue-tailed figure followed them, and then one more, until there were five Golduck-Kais on deck now, all looking equally menacing and cold. Three paper-Goldduck-Kais rushed towards the original, and the moment they entered within the 10-meter radius around him, he sent the needles flying towards them, which started to revolve around their head, just like the one revolving around him.
This was the strategy Kai had planned to use in case of unexpected scenarios.
"It's the Model 1 Mark 1 armor from Iron Man!" Meg's origami figure shouted, "Original Gray Armor! It has quite a few odd offensive and defensive properties, master, but it's slow!"
The person inside the Iron Man suit guffawed. "Slow?" the man said, turning around to face Kai, as the red-haired man threw a red and blue capsule in his mouth. "If you know about Original Gray Armor, then you must have heard these words as well. The Mark I Armor isn't about pretty. It's about power. It's about iron and the man wielding it. You think a few clones will help you guys? Here? In the middle of nowhere?"
"Don't worry about him, Charles," the red-haired man spat, raising the greatsword, and eying the original Meg firing arrows at Gyarados. "Our plan has worked. The idiot must have already used too much MP while finishing all the weaklings, and then using those ghostly serpents. Do you see those needles? He has been using Telekinesis since the moment he showed himself. Heh! Blessing he may have, but brains? I doubt it. Keep an eye out for the Telekinesis."
"Haha!" the iron man laughed derisively. "Let him try, Yannis. I will give him a pleasant surprise. But first… let me do something about his Telekinesis."
Kai had been letting the fools rant, trying to get some meaningful information out of them.
But as he heard the last sentence, his Perception roared again, screaming in his ears.
Run!
Kai backed up, as one of the three paper-Golduck-Kais rushed for the Iron Man, and he sent a needle flying at Yannis.
The needle didn't reach even half the distance.
A massive ethereal shockwave hit Kai, jolting his mind.
Kai grunted, his knees buckling, and his hands went for his head, which was pounding in pain. He wasn't the only one who had been affected. All the paper figurines around him, including paper-Meg, stumbled, falling on the deck like lifeless figures.
The needles dropped too and fell below the deck from the gap between the planks.
An Electromagnetic Interference?!
The thought had just passed Kai when the iron man lunged at him, a jet of air bursting out from the sole of his metallic feet, and followed it with a punch. All directions seemed to abandon Kai at this moment, his own Ability working against him.
The punch landed right on his chest like a train.
Boom!
Kai's blue figure slammed into the ship's hull like a bullet, blood oozing out of his mouth like a waterfall. His chest had caved in beyond humane comprehension. Just how many bones had broken with one punch he couldn't say. He couldn't even think, blindness threatening to take over his senses.
Yannis, taking advantage of this brief opening, shouted out his lungs. "Gyarados! Use Hurricane!"
An enormous roar shook the air over the narrow sea, and in the next moment, an even larger hurricane surrounded the battleground where Meg, Selene, and the Pokemon were having at each other.
Still, even in the direst circumstances, Kai's instincts roared mightier than Gyarados.
He couldn't take out the capsules to restore his HP, but he had already eaten an MP capsule. And he had just the Skill to regain a bit of his HP for such cases.
The Golduck's transformation disappeared and Kai's hazel pupils glowed ominous red.
Misdreavus-Kai grinned through his bloody teeth at the incoming, stunned iron man and activated the Skill.
Pain Split!
It was one of those Skills that Kai liked the most. There was no defense against it. There was no countering it. When activated, no matter what, Kai would gain HP as long as the flames of his HP were dwindling on the brink of going out.
However, what happened next, sent a shiver running down Kai's spine.
…
[
Skill Activation Failed!
Target's instantaneous HP is over 100% greater than Contestant's Max. HP
]
…
What?!
Kai couldn't believe it. How could the man within the armor have so much HP? Unless…
There was only one conclusion he could draw from it. The Contestant within the armor wasn't a 4th-floor… but…
A 5th-floor powerhouse!
Thud-Thud-Thud…
The Contestant approached an incapacitated Kai, his white hair drenched redder than red. Through the bloody pupils, Kai kept analyzing like a machine. Even if the enemy was a 5th-floor Contestant, he couldn't have this much HP over him. The only way it could happen was if the armor itself enhanced his Stamina, buffing the HP.
One thing was clear, though…
"What?" the robotic voice hummed out from the Mark 1. "No more running away… creature? You look so pitiful. Let it be. I will give you a swift death… a crushing one."
… Misdreavus Blood Essence was becoming redundant as he fought stronger opponents.
The Contestant raised a massive, iron fist. If it landed, it would pass right through Kai's chest, pulverizing anything and everything.
The fist descending, searing the air itself.
Kai let out a bloody grin.
A figure landed between him and the fist. The enormous paper wings wrapped around Kai, turning steel. Even before the fist landed, blood was seeping out of Meg's mouth.
Iron and Steel kissed…
… and sent both Meg and Kai flying into the sea, along with a great chunk of the ship.
Booommmmmmmmmm!
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