Just a little before Orien attacked the Project Echo monster and the scientist unleashed his abomination, Marin spoke through the walkie talkie, his voice slightly distorted with static.
"I've evacuated the villagers. They're out of the cave now and safe."
The moment Orien heard this, he wasted no time. He launched himself at the monstrous creation without hesitation.
The monster reacted swiftly. It flung Orien out of the cave, smashing him through layers of rocky walls. He crashed hard onto the ground outside, his back aching in pain from the brutal impact. Gritting his teeth, Orien groaned, "Tch... now this is really tough."
The beast followed, calm and calculated. It leapt from the shattered cave mouth and met Orien mid-air with a vicious punch, sending him plummeting back to the ground. He hit a jagged rock spine, the pain shooting up his back like lightning.
From a short distance away, the scientist stood atop a platform, arms spread wide in maniacal glee. "Behold! My masterpiece! Fueled by divine plot armor granted by the gods, blended with the essence I extracted from those villagers! He's unstoppable! HAHAHA!"
Orien's brow twitched. His eye twitched. His soul twitched.
"Kid!" he roared. "Knock that bastard out!"
From behind a fractured pillar, Marin burst out. Without hesitation, he tried to knock the scientist out with a chop across his neck , he didn't infused his chop with plot armor because he thought that would slice his neck off his body. But,
Nothing happened.
The scientist blinked. Marin blinked.
Then, without warning, the scientist drove his fist into Marin's gut. The boy bent over, gagging violently, and collapsed to his knees. Orien ran toward them, calling out, "Kid,are you okay?!"
Marin gasped, wiping his mouth, "I'm fine... just—ugh. I'll knock him out."
He stood, shaky but determined. With a deep breath, he began channeling plot armor through his body, golden veins glowing faintly across his arms and chest.
The scientist, laughing, withdrew a syringe and plunged it into his neck. "Let's turn this up a notch! I've upgraded myself again!"
His form twisted and mutated grotesquely, limbs swelling with unnatural proportions, his skin now semi-metallic. As Marin approached to attack, the mutated scientist grabbed him by the arm and hurled him into the hole left by the monster's exit.
Marin fell hard—right into the waiting arms of the monster.
It gripped his head with a vice-like claw and began crushing it.
Marin screamed in agony. Orien, now back on his feet, roared, "HEY! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HIM!" and slashed through the air with his sword, severing the monster's arm clean off.
Marin dropped, gasping, blood trickling down his face, but he managed to roll to safety and hurl the dismembered hand aside.
The monster calmly retrieved its severed limb, reattaching it like a toy part.
"...Okay," Orien muttered, "I did expect that, and I am not surprised either."
He charged again with a sword in hand.
Meanwhile, Marin, now regaining his strength, launched himself at the scientist.
The scientist aimed another punch, but Marin blocked it with one hand and countered with a thunderous punch to the chest.
Just before impact, the scientist shielded his face with plot armor. The punch sent him flying, but one of his arms—caught in Marin's grip—was torn off in the process.
Bleeding, but laughing, the scientist regenerated the limb in moments. "This is the power of SCIENCE! Hahahaha."
He rushed again. Marin dodged and attempted a gut kick, but the scientist caught his leg. Marin's eyes widened. "Oh shi—"
SLAM!
The scientist drove him into the cave wall, then shoulder-charged him through it, sending them both plummeting down a cliffside.
As they landed hundreds of feet down from the cave they were in , the scientist stood tall, seeing Marin unconscious. He muttered, "He'll make a fine test subject..."
But as he turned to leave, a voice croaked behind him. "I am not done yet..."
Marin stood, battered and bleeding, but upright.
"Trying to be a hero, boy?" the scientist taunted.
"No... just trying to shut your mouth."
He charged.
The scientist caught him mid-run and slammed him again. "Stay still. I'll deal with you later."
Marin grabbed his leg again, whispering, "Not yet , I am still not done..." in crackling voice said Marin.
With a brutal kick, the scientist crushed Marin's hand. A loud crack echoed. Marin bit back a scream. It looked like his arm was fractured due to the kick by the scientist.
He leaned on a rock, breathing heavily. "I should've gone for the neck..."
Then, with trembling hands, he reignited the glow of plot armor around his entire body. With a defiant roar, he leapt into the air, catching the scientist mid-flight and slamming him to the ground with a spinning kick.
The scientist layed stunned.He thought "How... how is that boy still able to continue fighting ?"
Marin jumped again and landed squarely on the scientist.
The impact was so hard it shook the ground and created a crater across the scientist.
The scientist vomited blood , just before the impact he protected his chest and stomach with plot armor but it still impacted him. Marin picked him up though his hairs, raised his glowing palm, and brought it down with a precise chop to the neck.
CRACK.
The plot armor around the neck fractured like glass. The scientist collapsed on the ground and was knocked out cold by that chop.
Instantly, the lab in the cave shimmered and vanished. The forcefield around the Genre Injection fell.
Marin mumbled, almost inaudibly, "I have finally knocked him out."
Then, he also fell to ground and was knocked out due to exhaustion.
Far away, Orien now felt that his plot armor was not being drained and he knew the boy knocked the caster out. He stood, wiping blood from his mouth.
He put his hands together and shouted loudly
"Genre Injection: Revenge Drama."
A crimson storm gathered behind him.
His fight with the monster had just begun.