《ALWAYS TOGETHER》Arc 4 Chapter 29: The Storm Cometh—Part 3
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Two pairs of fists have collided with an object at Mach speed, distorting, rupturing the sound barrier. Glass shatters, buildings rattle, the pavement swells from the traumatic force ensued. With two cloaked arms trying to budge what they contacted, that being Mandy’s shotgun, she had it forward, blocking them from advancing further. Mandy’s feet started to drag as they rose their mana, and she put more pressure down. The pavement below her boots crumbled, pushing away as they continued their relentless advancement. Sarah wanted to help so badly, but she knew the consequence of using her powers. If she did, then more will show up and overtake Mandy. Mandy didn’t seem to worry, she appeared more annoyed rather.
“Get… off… my gun!” Mandy growled.
Her shout pushed them away from her gun, giving her a chance to take aim. They quickly vanished and she easily caught up with their movements. One cloaked person appeared beside, another above. Mandy leaped, ducked as they tried sweeping her legs and punching her head off. She quickly aimed the gun to the one paused in a sweep motion, blasting his leg to smithereens. Yet there was no scream, not even a gasp. This caught Mandy off guard for a moment, giving the other a chance to throw a mana attack directly at her face. An explosion occurred and the two leaped away from it. Sarah covered her face as debris ricocheted off her. Once the explosion simmered, something flew out, heading in their direction. One blocked the shadowy object, Mandy appeared from the sky above them, and shot a blast from her gun, which made an impact and sent a mushroom cloud above the town. She flew back to Sarah and handed her her shotgun.
“Wh-Why are you giving me your gun?!”
Sarah started shaking, and felt extremely nervous about holding a gun. She’s never held one before. The weight itself was intimidating enough.
Mandy patted herself, and brushed her clothes.
“If the freaks try attacking you, my gun will do the rest for you, just aim and shoot. Don’t worry about recoil, my mana minimizes it.”
“Gosh darn it, Mandy. And we’re doing all this in reality too! Man, this is too wicked.”
“Heh, relax, I got this. I am the strongest here. But…”
She turned her gaze back to the bald man, confidently glaring their way with his hands behind his back as he stood over Jack.
“He’s much different than before. I can’t explain it, but he’s not the same man who fought your father in the forest.”
Sarah frowned and knit her brows.
“Doesn’t matter! He’s still a menace and has to be stopped!”
Mandy nodded. The smoke cleared out, and she saw the two cloaked people lying flat on the ground. She squinted her eyes and the bald man walked up to their bodies. He kneeled down and hovered his hand over them. Once he stood straight, they abruptly shot up from their supposed graves and their eyes glowed yellow.
“Son of a bitch…” Mandy said.
“Woah!”
“Wh-what?”
Sarah shrugged but giggled.
“Nothing, it’s just I never heard you cuss like that. You sound so fierce and aggressive.”
Mandy felt embarrassed and looked away.
“Whatever. But, those two are summons. They’re gonna be a handful.”
“I think we should take this fight outside reality.”
“Even if we could, do you really think that bastard will let us? We’ve got no choice, Sarah. The fight stands and I’ll be the one to end his charade.”
The bald man grinned and jolted his head. The two entities collapsed to the ground, slithering their way towards Mandy. She stomped the ground, splitting the earth and they immediately leaped into the air, giving her an opening. She shot her palm in their direction, shooting a beam of blue light. Direct impact and the shockwave sent shockwaves, creating more destruction. She flew into the smoke, smacked her hands together to blow away the smoke. The smoke slid off to the sides, and the entities both grew shocked because they had blast attacks ready for her. She grinned and vanished: Re-appearing to kick the one to the left away and again by smacking away the one to the right. The bald man wasn’t fazed by seeing his summons being toyed around. Rather, he found it more pleasing.
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He clapped and the entities teleported to his sides.
“Not bad, not bad. You’re definitely a lot stronger than your friend.”
Mandy feathered her way back to Sarah’s side, and waited for their next attack.
“Do you know why, I ask?”
Mandy shook her head. “No and I don’t give a root a toot as to why. Right now, my focus is to exterminate all of you and follow my goal.”
She pointed at Sarah without taking a glance at her.
“And that is to find this girl's mother and take her life!”
The bald man laughed and applauded her goal.
“And I won’t stop you!”
“Huh?” Mandy gasped.
Sarah narrowed her eyes at Mandy and poked her.
“You really don’t hesitate saying that, even when I’m beside you, huh?”
The bald man put his hands on the shoulders of the summons and gave Mandy a relaxed smile.
“These two here were created and are in fact stronger than your other blonde friend of a sorcerer!”
Mandy spat and did some jumping exercise to keep her adrenaline going.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of your statement. You have never seen her at her max, nor will you ever!”
Mandy abruptly stopped and lunged at them. The summons also went head on with Mandy. She dodged their close range blasts, spells from above, and fury of fists. She jumped backwards as the two went to the sky to deliver a plethora of spiked blast attacks that exploded with each impact. Sarah couldn’t resist but cheer Mandy on, thinking just how incredible she was. She made them look completely childish compared to the way she kept dodging every attack thrown at her. Mandy took cover behind a building for a moment, only for it to be lay down by more of their spiked blasts that tore it to shreds. She launched into the air and one summon teleported right at her face, putting its dead hands on her stomach to which she reacted instantly in rage. But the summon had zapped her in a purple helix of electricity. She screamed in agony while the summon appeared proud. The other flew back to his master while the one stayed, watching Mandy be zapped into oblivion. Mandy kept screaming, the summon retracted its arm to prepare itself to stab her with its dreaded fingers. Once it felt ready, it retracted more and twitched a finger, Mandy abruptly stopped, and her face turned still.
She gave the summon a side eye, and she grinned in a playful nature.
“Gotcha.” she said.
The summon tried flying back but Mandy put her hand on his face. She redirected the attack on him, which burnt him into a crisp within seconds. The summon stopped all its movements and became stiff. She let go and it fell to the ground, turning into ash. She turned around to the other two and saw the bald man still amused. She grunted and stayed in the air.
“Bravo, you killed one. Impressive.” he said.
The other summon didn’t move and Jack tried getting himself up but the bald man put one of his legs behind him, placing his foot on his back. He collapsed Jack back to the ground, which made him grunt loudly.
“Sit, boy. You’ll get your chance to shine.”
He tapped his chin and thought of something.
“You know what, I just thought of a great idea, but before I initiate my idea, allow me to introduce myself.”
He cleared his throat and pulled off his cloak, revealing the marks around his arms and body. He spread his arms out to the sides and bowed.
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“My name is Edgar, and soon to be second strongest of the clan representing the Sin of Envy.”
“Soon to be second strongest?” Mandy said.
Sarah grew a sweat gland.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” she said.
“Surprise to hear, aren’t ya? Now then, let me explain as to why I won’t stop you from achieving your goal, if I may have your name?”
Mandy flew back down and kept her fists clenched.
“My name’s Mandy, an Esper who loathes the clan that represents the definitive of evil, the queen of monstrosities, Abyzou.”
He smiled and slowly nodded.
“And I couldn’t agree more. Let me tell you a little about me before you and I have our little scuffle.”
He began pacing, and kicking the ground.
“I don’t enjoy this cult as much as you do, rather, I enjoy the privilege of power given to me. For example, I was weak, like this man behind me. Then, one day, I was blessed by the man known as our leader, Ravana.”
“Huh, another weak man blinded by his new found ego. A borrowed power that’s got him thinking big time.”
He clapped and laughed.
“Spot on. Although, I want to do more than just be powerful.”
He shot his arms into the sky, and spread his fingers out.
“I want to destroy this whole weak world and create a new race of powerful beings! I want to be the new world's founder and king! But before I could ever think of doing that, I have to surpass the rest and kill the ones who’ll get in my way of my dream.”
Mandy crossed her arms.
“Hmph, what a foolish weak man. You’ll never achieve that dream.”
He eerily brought his arms down to his sides and squinted his eyes at Mandy.
“What makes you so confidently say that, Esper?”
She grinned. “Because I’m in your way. And I know you can’t beat me, but more importantly, there’s four individuals in this world you’ll never reach there realm of power.”
“And who are these four? Is Abyzou one of them?”
“She’s not a part of this conversion right now. Even if you managed to get through me, the four people in mind are the Exorcist’s who are feared throughout the world.”
“I’m not aware of them. I’ve been living underground for the past decades, sweetheart.”
Being called sweetheart made Mandy twitch her fingers with annoyance.
“These four are people you’ll never lay a hand on. The first being Briana, the woman who stands beside the greatest being alive. The second, Marquise, the most respectful and noble of men. The third, yet second most powerful man alive, Archard, a bloodthirsty sadistic Exorcist who doesn't deserve the title of respected. And lastly, the great William H. Christ; the most powerful man alive and a being who respectfully should be named a God.”
Hearing their names still didn’t ring a bell besides William since he did hear Ravana mention him once, but it was of a folktale. He only shrugged at these reveals and chuckled.
“None of that matters. I’ll overcome them as I already grown strength mightier than my colleagues.”
“Hmph, arrogant fool. I can’t wait to smack that smug look on your face.”
Edgar spread his arms out and the summon reacted by flying at Mandy, landing a punch to the side of her face. But, she didn’t budge or react, instead the summon remained still and in shock as she stayed in place. His fist rammed, twisted at the side of her face as her eyes began to glare at Edgar’s arrogance. Sarah kept the gun aimed at him but she knew Mandy didn’t need her help.
“You’re not only a fool, but you’re also just as sick and twisted as the rest of your wretched cult.” Mandy said as she gripped her arms.
Edgar’s grin turned more smug and he tilted his head.
“We’ll see about that because once I’m through with you I’ll not only kill every being in this world but I’ll use you as my first breeding slave to begin my new race of people.”
Mandy ground her teeth, and put her arms to her sides, starting to charge up.
“NOT A CHANCE!”
She screamed and her aura mildly exploded out. She shaved the earth below her feet and Sarah had to leap away as her anger exploded out. The summon was sent flying away, crashing into a building as it crumbled on top of him. Rock debris flew, floated around the area from her faint aura. Edgar remained calm and surprised by her rise of power.
“Not bad. You’re definitely much stronger than I anticipated.”
Mandy growled as her trench coat fluttered violently.
“I’m glad you're amused, but now's not a time of conversing, now's your time to die!”
He nodded in agreement and grabbed Jack, lifting him by the back of his shirt.
“You’re right! Let's get rid of the fodder before we start, shall we?!”
He threw Jack at Mandy and she was prepared to catch him but he pointed his finger and he exploded in front of her eyes. She gasped loudly and her eyes went wide. Sarah’s eyes went blank and she collapsed to her knees.
“JACK!”
Mandy rushed into the smoke and found him intact but severely burned and more hurt.
“Thank god for Leon’s protection.” she muttered.
She grabbed him and spun him around, throwing him to Sarah. She saw his body coming and caught him but fell on her back. She grabbed his face and he was moaning with pain.
“Mom and dads protection saved your dumbass, Jack.” she said with a tear coming out.
Jack grunted and lifted an eye.
“Th-that’s a first for me…”
“What is?”
He coughed and hissed.
“Hearing you—say dumbass.”
Sarah rolled her eyes and giggled, wiping her eyes.
“Shut up…”
They both turned their attention to Mandy and Edgar who were ready to throw it down.
“You vile sick freak.” Mandy said.
Edgar flew up to the air and looked down at Mandy, chuckling maniacally.
“Just for that, I won’t dig a grave for you, I’ll leave not a single trace of your body left for this world to collect.” Mandy growled.
“Really? Because once I’m done with you, I’ll chain you up and to make you feel better, I'll be the one to kill Abyzou for you.”
“Not on my watch! I’ll be the one to kill her!”
Mandy’s aura exploded again, revealing a bit more and she flew right at Edgar and gave him a stupendous punch that knocked the colour out his eyes. She didn’t hesitate but gave him a flurry of ab punches that made him gag repeatedly and grunt as she herself growled more with each impact. She gave him one more heavy punch and kicked him away, sending him flying to the side. As she flew after his hurtling body, she was ready to throw a combination of two right and left hooks when he unexpectedly caught both her wrists. The two stared at each other's eyes. Mandy grunted, trying to get off his grip.
With his eyebrows furrowed, he wasn’t worried in the slightest. Nor did he appear much fazed by her attacks.
“You won’t get that far with punches like those, my dear!”
The two crashed back down, struggling and trying to budge the other. Once near the ground, Mandy pulled away from his grip and began throwing haymakers and kicks at him to which he responded casually by dodging them. With another set of combination thrown punches, he ducked and once he was back up, he aimed his palm at her face. She gasped and stayed still. With her jaw dropped, she took a step forward and he shot a blast at her face. A small ball of mana sent her pushing away, and she caught it with her palms. It pushed her far enough to be slammed against a building as she struggled to push it off her. After a small struggle, she pushed it away at him and Edgar smacked it away. They stared at each other again and Mandy rushed him, sending a side kick which he blocked. He kept dodging and dodging each attack until Mandy upped the stakes and landed two brutal blows to his abs and his eyes exploded as he gagged out a pool of drool.
Mandy smacked him and it rocked his mind.
“Don’t get carried away!” She shouted.
She grabbed his arm and began spinning him. With her small size and his tall nature, it looked comedic and abnormal. With much momentum she sent him flying away and he spun away to another couple of buildings, crashing through them. Mandy flew to his impact zone and, going past the destroyed buildings, they found themselves in the middle of the town. He was casually standing with his fist clenched to his sides and this time, he didn’t have a grin rather a straight face.
“Wow, wow, rather impressive to say the least. Had we fought in our first encounter at the forest then you definitely would’ve taken the win.”
He turned his body to give Mandy a side eye, furrowing his brows.
“Yes, and if you’re nowhere near your full strength than I’d imagine even with my current new found power, you’d still have the edge.”
Mandy knit her brows and clenched a fist. He slowly raised one finger and his smug grin re-appeared.
“But then it happened again, I was blessed by Ravana again.”
Mandy raised a brow and opened her mouth in confusion.
“He gave me strength that I’d never would’ve imagined having! Giving me a chance to transform into something more than just human!”
“What?!”
Edgar faced Mandy straight and put his arms out to the sides again.
“You should feel privileged. Not only will you be the first to witness it but you’ll also be the first to be bred with it!”
He hunched his body forward and balled his fist. He growled and the earth began to tremble beneath their feet. Rock debris flew around again and the buildings began to shake, some started collapsing to his new growing strength. A swirl of purple mana started forming around his vicinity and his markings began to glow yellow. They pulsated and the mana Mandy was feeling made her sweat and gasp with shock as her clothes fluttered violently. His pecks exploded out, sending shockwaves. His calve muscles expanded, creating more wind trauma in the area. His biceps grew twice their size, and his height slowly grew over eight feet. His pupils glowed yellow and he grew canines. Mandy was absolutely speechless and she blinked multiple times, repeatedly gasping.
“He’s-He’s huge…” she said.
He was done transforming and he was over eight feet tall, three times his muscle mass, and his markings were glowing yellow. His pupils remained glowing purple but around them was solid red. He chuckled beneath his breath and had the biggest grin on his face.
“Yes, time to perish!”
His new power exploded, displaying an array of purple plasma around his body as he stomped the ground to launch himself at Mandy. Just him leaping alone collapsed the earth below them, crumbling the town into a huge sinkhole. Mandy loudly grunted, casted a spell beneath her tongue as she put her hand over her stomach area. She vanished, reappeared above the destroyed town square, wondering where he went. She covered her stomach, and Sarah could sense that all her mana was covering her stomach region. She wondered why and saw the newly transformed monster knee Mandy’s gut into oblivion. She gagged horrifically and he smacked her away with his ginormous forearm. She was sent crashing to a building, collapsing it over her.
“Mandy!” Sarah shouted.
Edgar went hurtling towards where she landed, fist straight forward and crash landed into the crash sight. The earth rumbled, trembled as he made an impact on Mandy’s abs. She yelled, squirmed with pain as his fist was left, drilling into her stomach region. He chuckled and drove more force into it, letting the earth feel his might. He flew off into the air as the crater she was in began to crumble and stumble rubble onto of her. He floated mid air as he watched the earth swallow Mandy.
“What a nice feeling. But, I wonder why she’s so keen on protecting her stomach? What an odd Esper.” he said.
Sarah and Jack could feel the earthquake again and they saw a fountain of smoke and debris shoot into the sky behind Edgar. A flash of blue holy light shined the dawning sky, and they saw Mandy battle ready as her aura was now in full display. She appeared undamaged by her appearance, but she was out of breath; huffing and puffing as she glared at Edgar’s backside.
“Hmph, took you long enough, Esper. Although, is that all you got?” he said.
She continued breathing heavily, and reeled her arms towards her, powering up and moving at speeds that not even Sarah could keep up with. Edgar stayed in the air, not moving a single muscle and quickly raised his right hand, back handing Mandy as she tried rushing him from behind. Again, her aura exploded and she tried to attack him from the front but he punched his way into her path. She flew away backwards, but bumped against something that felt like metal that froze her in place.
Edgar laughed and let out a satisfied sigh.
“Is that all you really got? Esper.”
Mandy’s eyes quivered as sweat poured down her face. She moved her pupils to look behind, and abruptly tried spin kicking him, but he vanished faster than she could blink. He appeared again by punching her away. She was sent crashing back down, skidding on the earth and through the street pavements. She lay there, groaning and again, focusing all her mana to protect her abdomen. He rocketed to her, and the force of his flying destroyed the pavement below, pushed away buildings, and evaporated the air around him as he gained closer to Mandy’s lying body. Mandy got on her feet, barely as he drove his giant fist, ramming it right in her gut, pushing her away to a building. He slammed her against it with her feet not touching the ground. She repeatedly gasped as his fist was rammed in, twisting, and he let out a manic chuckle.
“I’m more used to using Mana attacks than physical ones like I demonstrated to Leon in the forest. But with this new power, I can destroy anybody with my fists alone: none can even attempt to use mana against me even if they could!”
Edgar pushed Mandy more into the building, slicing it upwards with her body and exploding her out of it to slam her again into the ground. He pushed her deep into the ground and with so much force, he buried her alive and split the earth. The town became divided and Sarah jumped away from the splitting earth with Jack.
“Mandy! Why are you not fighting back?!” Sarah shouted.
Jack grunted. “She’s-she’s going to get killed if this keeps up.”
“I-I don’t understand… She's strong enough to beat him yet she’s so keen on protecting her stomach! Why why?!”
Edgar moaned with excitement as he stood straight, taking in the view of the split earth he created. He saw a white glowing dot appear from some distance and saw Mandy levitating up to his line of view and was a battered, bruised mess, breathing frantically. Her clothes were shredded, blood dripped from the side of her face, and she looked absolutely livid. He chuckled and was enjoying this moment, even going as close to almost take a seat for a moment.
“Look at you, haha, you can’t even detect my movements. What else do you have in mind, huh Esper?”
Mandy tried to control her breathing, and Sarah couldn’t take it.
“Mandy, catch!”
Sarah chucked her shotgun her way, and Mandy looked over her shoulder, catching it. She looked at her weapon for a moment before throwing it back to Sarah in anger.
“What are you doing?!” Sarah shouted.
Mandy glared back at Edgar, raised her fists close to her face, and screamed out a battle cry. She began to power up the aura she had stored in her stomach region, and she was beginning to do that beam stance that surprised Sarah in their spar. She finally caught on to where she learned that technique from, that being her father. Mandy grew her mana higher and higher, screaming louder to the point it shattered windows downtown that was a mile away. Panic ensued more within city limits as they saw the sky turn orange to total night with a blue luminescence occurring from the horizon. Mandy’s aura had reached the sky and she put her hands towards her face, let out one more angry scream and shot her palms forward.
“MANDY STOP!” Sarah yelled as she saw the ginormous beam explode out her palms shooting forward towards Edgar.
It was so massive that it swallowed the rest of the town and Edgar remained seated for a second before jumping back to his feet and running dead into the blue light. He casually ran into it, and with his size spread the beam even farther out, creating more destruction around the area.
“NO WAY?!” Mandy screamed.
Edgar ran faster and caught up where Mandy’s standing, popping out the beam and giving Mandy a nasty right hook to her jaw. She was sent colliding to another building and seeing Mandy become a punching bag drove Sarah into impatience, and rage.
“I got to do something… I can’t just stand here! Please, please, let me help you Mandy!”
Sarah took a step forward, but Jack grabbed her wrist, preventing her from proceeding any further.
“You mustn't, Sarah… your-your father—”
“Jack! Let me go, I’m not just going to stand here and do nothing. I’m tired of it, I’m tired of being a standing damsel in distress or forced to be a vulnerable asset.”
Sarah clenched her fist, and ground her jaw.
“People have gotten hurt… you! Have gotten hurt and nature is paying the most for their actions…”
Sarah’s eyes began to water and quiver. Jack’s also began to shake as he saw Sarah’s distress and anger starting to get to her.
“Please, Jack…”
Jack ground a fist, and slammed it on the ground.
“I-I—”
Meanwhile, Mandy was being ragdoll, punched and hammered fisted into the air again. Edgar teleported behind her, hammer smacking her back to the earth where she slammed against a tall building, staying dented into it. Edgar came metering down, and jammed his fist against her chest, which made her eyes explode and cough out blood. He drove another straight fist onto her chest, ramming her deeper into the building, and finally, Mandy passed out but not before gasping and coughing out blood once more. Her head hung as she remained jammed into the building and Edgar stared at her unconscious crucified bruised body.
“Haha, don’t you pass out on me, woman.”
He reached to grab Mandy, pulling her out of her hole. Rocks crumbled, the building began to giveaway as he held Mandy by the collar of her shirt.
“Wake up.”
He kneed her in the gut, and her mouth exploded open, drooling out blood. Mandy squinted an eye, groaned with pain, but again, all her mana was focused on her stomach. He punched her stomach area repeatedly, her limbs thrusting with each impact. He laughed as he threw her off to the side, teleporting where she’ll reach and kneeing her again.
“Stop…” Sarah muttered.
Mandy had been thrown in the air, pummeled back to the ground and sent a fountain of smoke into the sky.
“Stop, no-no more…”
Sarah covered her eyes with her fists, growling and fighting her emotions. She can’t stand being a spectator when she knows she has the power to help.
“Mandy, fight back, fight back! Fight… back!”
Edgar gave Mandy one more nasty knee shot to her face before slamming her away to the side. She skid away, face down and lay there, motionless. Jack managed to get back on his feet, grabbing his right arm as he saw Mandy lying on the ground and Edgar laughing up a storm.
“We-we gotta think of something.” Jack said.
Sarah dropped to her knees and slammed her fist on the ground. Yet as she did, off to the side, she saw a bird and her hatchlings on the ground, dead. This made her upset, and crawled to the deceased animals. She muttered words, repeatably gasped as she gently grabbed the mother bird who seemed to be barely alive, but only for a moment before leaving this life. With the mother bird dying in the palm of her hands, Sarah had enough, and her eyes grew blank.
“It didn’t do anything—wrong.”
She closed her hands over the bird and crawled to the nest, seeing the two dead hatchlings.
“They didn’t deserve this… no one does.” Sarah said.
She glanced around and saw the carnage, and some bodies that were hiding inside buildings. Seeing victims succumb to the monster's ruthless actions against Mandy had triggered something inside of Sarah she thought she’d never experience. She felt her hair float, her mana surge, and the sky was going back in time, bringing back midday and shining the sun back into the sky. With rocks floating off the ground, fragments of debris and building structures going up to the sky, Edgar shifted his head to where Sarah was on her knees, glaring at him.
“Wh-what’s going on? What is this surge of mana I’m sensing from her?”
Seeing the bright blue sky again and the fluffy white clouds surging from the horizon made Edgar grow in a small panic.
“Hey! Is it you that’s doing this?! Damn copy!”
Sarah shut her eyes, dropped her head onto her closed palms, and growled. The clouds rapidly coursed through the sky, everything began to float up to the air, and Jack couldn’t do anything but watch as he remained still with pain.
“No… Sa-Sarah! Sto-Stop!”
Hearing his voice tell her to stop her rising power made Sarah grind her teeth.
“No… I’m tired of this. I’m tired of watching, I’m tired of the destruction….” she mumbled.
Sarah brought her head up to the sky, and her eyes were growing big.
“I’ve had it… I’ve had—enough!”
Sarah screamed and let out a broken cry that echoed out to the sky. The whole city could hear her pain, her suffering, and more importantly, her anger. Edgar glanced around as everything that was floating had been put on pause by her shout. It continued until it faded out completely, bringing dead silence back to the world. All the objects that were in mid air gently fell back down. Sarah put her hands out to the sky. Her palms flashed a golden light and the mother bird had turned to a yellow one, and flew out of Sarah’s hands. The mother bird went to her deceased children and brought them back to life simply by chirping. They grew enough to grow wings and all three flew off into the sky. Sarah gently lowered her arms, and with her head down, Edgar could see a glowing golden light around her body. Most of her raven hair grew faintly bleached out but still had a hint of black near the edges. She slowly raised her head, and revealed her eyes were now bright hazel green.
“What?! she’s-She’s a… a—?!”
Sensing Sarah’s new surge awakened Mandy and gave herself enough strength to see what was happening.
“She-she shares the same… divinity as—them.” she whispered.
“I knew she wasn’t Abyzou! You copy, you insect, prepare to be eliminated!”
He raised his right hand in the air and Sarah suddenly appeared beneath his huge arm, and stood still. He gasped, and tried punching her, but he couldn’t. An unknown force prevented him from driving his fist forward. Her glare sent chills up his spine while he attempted to shoot another punch but only for it to make contact with the air. His jaw vibrated while staring down Sarah who’s face told him that she wanted nothing more than to punch this guy in the face.
“You’ve done enough. You’ve hurt people, destroyed this town, disrupted the normality that makes us human… but most of all—”
Edgar stepped back and shouted, shooting one more giant fist forward. Sarah caught it and the shockwave itself created a massive crater around them.
“You hurt mother nature and my friends.”
“What are you talking about?! I’ll hurt and kill what I want! That is my idea, my ultimate goal! To extinguish the weak and strive a new society of strength and Anarachy!”
Sarah grew angrier, grounding her teeth and the golden light around her began to burn like fire.
“In the end, the weak will die and the strong will surivive!”
A deep wrinkle formed between Sarah’s eyes and she began to breathe heavily.
“If we’re going by your rules, then let's play by them!”
Sarah’s anger exploded, and her shout alone sent Edgar flying away, letting her drive her fist against his cranium with the momentum. Blood exploded out of his nostrils and Sarah kicked him up to the sky. He yelled and Sarah gave him a powerful sidekick that sent a rumble down to the earth and broke the sound barrier ten times. Edgar spat out blood, and remained still, in disbelief. At first he growled with pain, moaned with anger, but slowly it transitioned to small chuckles. Sarah stayed serious and listened to his broken laughter as he floated backwards away from Sarah. Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Never has he seen this side of Sarah before but similarly saw that same light from before. Mandy too couldn’t believe her eyes and answered her suspicion of her not being Abyzou anymore. The fact that she harbingers both the power of Leon and the same strength as the two mighty Exorcists goes to show just how much of a twisted being Samantha is.
Mandy got on her feet, and rubbed her stomach, growing a grin as she watched the two midair.
“That’s a relief. But, what are you, really, Sarah?”
Edgar let out one more chuckle before bringing his eyes back to Sarah.
“I’m so glad I was able to meet you this way. Seeing you in this state confirms that you are just a carbon copy of Abyzou. Regardless, it doesn’t matter, because in the end, I’ll be the new mightiest being alive!”
Sarah didn’t say anything. Her light burned more and grew hotter.
“I love it. And forget hand to hand combat. It's time I revert back to what makes me so great, my mana control!”
Edgar shot his palm forward and sent a huge blast wave at Sarah. The giant purple blast swallowed her and blinded the area for a brief moment. Once it faded out, Sarah glanced higher to the sky, and what she saw made her soul leave her body for a moment.
“What-What is he—?” she mumbled.
He laughed and above his raised arms was a giant massive black ball that shot out purple plasma everywhere. The size alone covered most of the sky. It darkned it too, it was stiff, showed no movements, but behind the black mass whatever light survived was bending and got sucked into it.
Sarah’s eyes grew worried as she quickly caught on to the danger this object possessed, leaving her in a gasped state.
“No, you wouldn’t!” she shouted.
“Hahaha! Shouldn’t have dropped your guard copy! If you knew exactly how fast I can gather mana without a spell then this should worry you more than death. With my new found powers, I was able to discover abilities that transcend time and space!”
Mandy rushed to Jack, and put his arm around her shoulder. Jack looked at Mandy and coughed.
“What-What the hell is that?!”
Mandy’s eyes shook and she ground her teeth.
“If that thing makes contact with the ground, no one in this world will survive.”
Edgar let out one more chuckle before speaking again.
“You shouldn’t have taken your eyes off me, copy! This attack here has twice the size and mass of a supermassive blackhole like the one in the center of our galaxy!”
Sarah quickly flew down to the two, and put her arms out, preparing herself to shield them.
“Mandy! Take Jack and get the hell out of here!”
Jack tried to break free from Mandy’s grip.
“No! They’ll find you, they’ll take you! I-I can’t, Sarah!”
“Mandy, now!”
“Hahaha! Even if you manage to dodge it, we’re all going to die nonetheless! Black mass, swallow them whole!”
He flung his arms forward and Mandy immediately flew away. Jack screamed Sarah’s name and the black sphere once it flew over him, began to swallow everything in sight. Nothing could survive its density as it plunged its way to Sarah who powered up her light and put her arms forward, fighting the gravity and mass of its swallowing nature. The whole town got swallowed and now the earth was paying consequence to its existence. Chunks of her crust were succumbing to it. Sarah screamed as it finally reached her vicinity. Her feet dragged, and buried into the ground, and soon it got swallowed by its pull. Sarah struggled and pushed with all her might to fend off the ball from making contact with earth's core as it pushed her deeper into the crust.
“You’re… you’re going to murder billions of people!”
The earth grew more into effect by the mass of the object, and natural disasters began to enrupt throughout the globe. As the blackhole began to swallow most of the area, Edgar laughed and embellished at the thought of being the one to end everything now.
“Struggle all you want! In the end, we’ll all die, COPY! IT'S OVER!”
Sarah screamed, struggled, and soon began to be crushed by the mass of it and earth’s core that began to shine, burn behind her.
“I-I can’t let this… go on!”
Sarah was crushed by the earth, and by the sphere. Edgar laughed and watched as the blackhole began to swallow more than the area around them.
“YES! NO ONE CAN COMPREHEND MY NEW POWER AND CUNNING!”
As he coped with his win, the mass stopped, and he saw Sarah’s light erupt from behind it, and simutounously being swallowed by the blackhole. But with so much of her light shining, escaping the gravitational pull of his attack, showed him that she was managing to push the mass back up off the ground.
“WHAT?!”
Sarah’s feet were touching earth’s core, and she had a barrier around it, protecting it from being destroyed. She was surprised as to how she was surviving all this but concluded that she was going by instinct and that her father’s side was taking into effect. She let out a loud war scream as she slammed her foot against earth's core and gave herself momentum to push the attack back to the surface. Edgar panicked and his eyes popped out of their sockets as he saw the blackhole coming back up.
“NO, IT CAN’T BE!”
Sarah put her arms more forward, and her palms exploded out mana. A giant red blast formed between her palms and the object's mass, and her blast alone was the heavier object. It pushed the black mass away, shooting its way back to Edgar who couldn’t do anything but watch it come his way. The black sphere finally made contact with Edgar who could only put his arms forward, but ultimately, he got swallowed by the mass and disappeared into the black abyss. Her blast and black sphere blew off past earth’s atmpshoere and eventually faded out into the sky, and for a moment, there was only silence and with the blue sky returning, a giant explosion occured next to the sun. It shined the sky into red and ruptured earth’s magentics sphere but just for a millisecond. Sarah’s light faded, her eyes turned back crimson, but blank. She gently rubbed her hands together, and the ginormous hole beneath her began to reform back to the way it was. The earth had gotten its ground back and its protection. The buildings returned to the way they were, and nature herself birthed again the animals that succumbed to the ruthless destruction. Mandy and Jack were in awe as they watched Sarah revert everything back. With the sun shining on her like a spot light, she put a hand in the air, and the same bird she birthed a second chance in life, landed on her hand. She pet the bird with her soulless crimson eyes and shifted her head to Mandy. Mandy knew exactly who she was staring at, and knit her brows.
“Samantha…” Mandy whispered.
Sarah grinned for a moment. She let the bird fly away and turned away for a moment. She closed her eyes and reopened them, only to find herself in a confused state and fall to the side. Jack rushed to her side with Mandy following suit. He got to his knees, and raised Sarah off the ground.
“Sarah, Sarah! You alright?!”
Sarah repeatedly blinked her eyes open, and looked into Jack’s eyes, and had a tear slipping out. Mysteriously, Herold showed up next to Mandy and he was also in disbelief.
“When did you get here?” Mandy asked.
Herold’s eyes were locked on Sarah, and his jaw was dropped.
“She-she’s… alive afterall…” He mumbled.
Jack hugged Sarah and once he let off, she rested one hand on his bruised cheek, and let out one more tear, but one of blood. She softy moaned, and in a hurt soft tone, said to Jack, “What… am I?”
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Rise of America 1620
Thirteen incense plundering turtles "white skin" economy! Caribbean waterways can be controlled by fishing boats and engines! Since the nobility is known for its "washing powder dipstick" and "black cotton" is popular in Europe, the "washing powder dipstick" is dumped on the street! This is the evidence of the emergence of an empire!
8 100The Digidream Chronicles
The World Jumper, the first volume in the saga, is now out on Amazon! What you'll find there is the improved, edited and expanded version, so please check it out if you're so inclined. And stay tuned for new chapters of what will become volume two! Right after quitting her job at Digidream, the company where the most innovative virtual reality universe is being made, Sarah will be forced to enter the game to save her boyfriend. Once inside, she will find herself in a world that changes and evolves constantly, according to the whims of the mysterious Game Master. Sarah will have to keep moving and fighting to improve and gain the abilities that will let her win and get out, picking some friends along the way. Everything seems to be stacked against her as she progresses through the different realms, but she will soon discover that there are other enigmatic entities that might not be in line with the rules set by the Game Master. Will Sarah be able to win and rescue her boyfriend, or will she fail and get trapped forever inside the virtual nightmare?
8 101The Father of All (Rewritten Version)
The Observer had always remained faithful to its duty, to learn and to remember all that would come to pass so that when its Creator returned, it would recount all that it had learned and remembered. But the Universe has stagnated, History repeats itself over and over and the Observer could learn nothing new. This would not do, how could it face its creator with what was basically repetition, monotonous, boring, repetition. But how would it break this looping cycle? How would it write the History of the Universe itself anew?
8 122Sky Fall
This is the quest of a Trill young Jodye. Eyes bloodshot since the past still hurt him. New life formed, and it's only something like hell, Tragic little Jodye, it just wasn't in his sight well, On the night the sky fell were rivers of blood. The chosen one is frozen by the death of his loves. Death is just a journey when reflection occurs, Everything could vanish in the moment evil is spurred, And for justice to occur, you can't return as you were. Change is fundamental, pain is made to endure. Time is of the essence, our origin is a blessing, Once the truth is unearthed only heaven can protect him, He's a legend. ---- :Warning: This novel contains graphic scenes and content that some may consider traumatizing. Please be advised, and read at your own discretion. A retired meta-human spy has his whole life flipped upside down when a stranger disintegrates him with a magic gun! But before he can blink, he is reborn in a world full of magic, heroes, mighty pharaoh gods, and ancient titans. In the lowest realm of the Divine Universe, a young adult named Jodye Trill from modern Earth is reborn in a world full of magic he never imagined! In his first life, he was born into poverty in an affluent society! In this life, he was born into luxury in a cruel and vicious land! It's an unknown yet beautiful land of spiritual cultivation and martial arts but plagued by dark plots and evil techniques. Women are victimized, and used as tools! Once the destructive nature of the land extends to his own family, Jodye is unable to stand for the state of this world any longer."Strength! Without strength I watched my lover suffer. Without strength, I stood helpless as that same lover died!! Without strength, there is no respect, no love, and there can be no peace! I must be stronger. I will carve out my legend of strength to bring my world peace!!"
8 207CATastrophe
After a bunch of nuclear power-plants all around the world exploded due to some dumb mistakes, radiation caused mutations in just about all the animals and some plants on planet earth. Especially cats. Now cats are the lifeform above all lifeforms, because for some strange reason, radiation had a veryyy pronounced effect on cats. Now dead-set on vengance, cats are out to get humans for making embarassing dank memes of cats and overall setting dogs as the superior species. This will be really endangering the humankind. Plus the fact that now every single animal on earth is sentient, stronger, and sometimes smarter than humans, humans are now on the bottom of the food-chain. Follow Dave the cat-hating prick, on his journey to put humanity back on top, and to pacify as many prideful cats as possible. But first he will have to deal with his girlfriend's cat Holly and her shenanigans. Authors note: Don't expect a lot for this series, this is like my first proper story.
8 103Refining the Heavens
[A.K.A. Kairos Astroire & the Snowdrifts] Kairos, a poor village boy, was born in a warring state without a decent shred of cultivating talent. In a world of Ki and Magic where only the mighty will rise while the weak are trodden upon, the Empire judges one’s potential in the academy. Fated to be expelled and starve on the streets, his struggles only turned him into the perfect stepping stone for his affluent aristocrat classmates. When an ancient enemy of humanity awoken during an assessment, life took a turn for the worst... Until he unlocked the power to refine any cultivation manuals and seized fate in his own hands. Since the heavens bore down cruelly, then why not refine the heavens?
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