The mechanical figures surrounded us. Terek, who had summoned them, released his summoning position and spread his arms out ahead of him. Mana strings formed from his fingertips and branched off to each of the mecha figures across the arena, disappearing once they made contact.
"Puppet Magic: Mecha Army."
Their eyes glowed, activating. Then the one on Terek's right jolted at us, heading for the young girl.
I saw it from my peripheral and jump-kicked it to its side, tossing it away to another part of the arena where the other mechas were spread out.
Next, the six arms moved toward us, using large, mangled arms to crawl on the ground at a rapid pace. Just as quickly, I grabbed the girl and moved her behind me. I readied my right fist, a focused look cast on my face.
"Don't be scared," I said to the young girl, her face lit as I spoke. "I've defeated this thing before, I can defeat it again"—still charging vehemently, it came—"a thousand times over!"
My heavy fist plastered directly into the face in the middle of its chest and dented its teeth in, throwing it back violently to a group of other mechas behind it. It caused a collision against them, crashing into the wall of the arena. Some of the fakes got caught in the impact and scattered from the bleachers.
From the smoke, Ryo had jumped through the other side, parrying a mecha as they clashed in the air. He kicked it off, having spun before landing on the ground. Claymore in hand, he swung it against its side as he completed his spin, shattering it in flaming pieces like asteroids, flying toward the other mechas.
The flaming parts shot, burning holes right through them. Three at this time bolted toward him, dodging the asteroid-like pieces, and jumped him. A series of close combat commenced when they met—becoming three verses one as Ryo fended them off skillfully.
The whole time Terek swung his arms, controlling each figure, like he was the conductor and our battles—the orchestra. And the crowd cheered vehemently at the spectacle all the while.
I reeled back my punch after sending the bigger one flying across the arena and locked my stare back to Terek, standing there with two other mecha figures on both sides of him.
"Quite impressive, Captain. But how will you fare against this?" he said, flicking two of his fingers from both hands.
Once he did, the two figures standing next to him disassembled and reassembled into a bigger mecha, with four arms now.
He did another hand sign, and a white pentagram formed from underneath him, pressing a hand on the back of the newly created four-armed mecha. Then, as if placing something inside, it powered up when he chanted, "Fuse!"
It still stood there, but I didn't give it time to prepare. I shot directly at it with my left knee, followed by my right fist. But it blocked both strikes with one of its left arms alone.
It read my movements? I thought to myself.
At this time, it focused two of its arms on its right, parallel to each other, and threw a haymaker to me as I was still mid-air. I threw my left arm and left leg up to block, but once its arms got an inch close to me, they separated into a wider angle vertically and aimed around to my head and inner right leg, which were unprotected.
SMACK!
It was a direct hit to me, but it only pushed me over to the side in the air. I slid a bit when my feet hit the ground. And I was surprised at its combat ability. This one knew how to fight.
"Your reputation stands true, Captain. Those punches should have broken your bones and cracked your skull. This one's infused with a pro fighter's spirit and the previous captain of the Silver Sharks… you know, the one who passed away," Terek casually injected.
I stood up from where it had managed to push me with its punches, which was a few feet away from it, replying, "What are you talking about?"
Terek chuckled and continued, "It's as I said. But to put it another way… this mecha puppet is infused with a dead Captain's spirit."
The mecha flexed as if it had muscles, rotating parts of its body as it stood in place.
"Do you know what the magic ability of this Captain is?"
He paused as I remained silent, glowering.
"He has Landmine magic… So every time he makes contact with you, he plants a mana bomb that gets stored up in your own body heat. Then whenever he wishes, he can ignite them at his will."
As he said this, the heat on the side of my face and my right leg began to rise—they were the areas from where that thing had made contact.
At the same time, the four arms, or rather, the former Silver Sharks Captain reincarnate, extended its top right arm and formed a finger-snapping gesture with its hand, and before I knew it…
BOOM!
The left side of my face and my right leg had exploded. The impact made me stagger, and all that could be seen from those areas was a cloud of black smoke exuding out from me…
"NO! MISTER!" the young girl shouted.
Terek looked in her direction and chuckled. "Aw, what's the matter? Did you really think he was gonna win this, young one? Did I ruin your perfect savior's face? Well, I'm not finished."
He flicked another finger, and the six arms I punched flew up in the air above us, the face of its monster torso ruined after the punch I gave it. Clasping two of its opposite arms together, the silhouette of it against the light above was the only thing the young girl saw as it crashed down onto me.
CRASH!
Cracking the ground, the impact caused a dust storm to boom from where it had struck onto me. The blasting wind caused the young girl to cover her eyes and reel back—sand particles jetting to her and the surrounding area.
"MISTER!!!" the young girl shouted again, agonizingly, her voice cracking.
Terek's sickening laugh overlapped her cry immediately. He was laughing so hysterically that he had to cover his face with a palm once more. If evil had a laugh, it would be his.
Then, without looking, he flicked two fingers in the young girl's direction.
When he did, two mechas bolted out of nowhere from both sides of her, flanking her through the smoke. Both had poisoned dipped knives and other types of weaponry for limbs as they rushed her. Dripping their toxins on the dirt with each impending step. It steamed, burning even through the dirt as the clangs of their steps got closer and ever closer.
Her eyes widened, looking to both sides, tears forming in her eyes—not because she was about to die, but more so because her hero was…
Right then, a flaming slash shot through the figure on her right like red lightning, her attention to the other one on her left, barely realizing. She flinched unexpectedly. The flame, with lightning characteristics, rushed through that one and then curved around to the other she faced, obliterating both in mere seconds. In a quick burning slash, Ryo had destroyed the two mechas attempting to attack her. Poisoned darts flew at them as soon as the mechas blew up, but Ryo grabbed the young girl and cast a flaming barrier around them just as quickly. His claymore in front of them both, struck into the ground in the middle as the barrier melted the darts, simultaneously keeping them protected within.
"Fear not, young one. Have faith in my friend. It will take a lot more than that to best him," Ryo reassured her as he released her gently and his barrier faded.
The young girl looked at him with hopeful eyes, wiping away her tears.
"Trust me. He's been through worse." He finished with a smile so warm.
As the smoke faded, the scene that came next left everyone in shock.
The mecha, which once had six arms, now only had four working ones. The other two arms that had struck me were completely destroyed and lay just over my shoulder, metal twitching, unable to move from behind me. My back faced it as the front of me faced outward in Terek's direction. Head rested in a tilted position, having not even attempted to dodge that last blow—as if I even needed to.
The smoke and dust faded some more, and my right leg was completely exposed from the knee down; my leg and foot were covered in a black coating. Then as the smoke and dust faded from my head, what was revealed was a semi-transformation; again, that black coating enveloping me. A half row of fangs displayed on the left side of my face, and my eye on that side glowed an intense red.
The mecha threw its next set from both sides at me now, fists formed, as I remained completely still. When the pair of fists made contact with me, its arms crushed within themselves and shattered utterly from the impact.
Its last set of arms transformed into large, poisoned drills that attempted to skewer me from behind. The drills made an impact, but struggled to perforate. Both the tips bent as they proceeded to bore futilely.
I casually turned around as if nothing was happening, the drills continuing to skid across my body from my back to my abs all the while. Clothes ripping while underneath, that same black coating formed over parts of my skin.
I took a drawn-out step forward to the former six arms, unbothered, until I was close enough to look its monstrous face of a chest dead in the eyes. "I almost forgot about you," I said as I gently placed my hands in between its baring teeth, and just like the time in the hourglass, I began ripping its mouth open—except this time from side to side.
It ripped open effortlessly, like I was hardly trying. The six arms struggled to keep drilling, powering down as its drills shaved and stopped working altogether. Its last set of arms became limp as I slowly tore it in two from the mouth out. It twitched a few times until I extended my arms fully with both its halves, throwing them both in opposite directions. The halves crashed in two different ends of the arena, causing more fakes to scatter and holler from the bleachers.
Terek's spiral eyes widened in disbelief, "What… What the fuck are you?" he seethed.
"I'm just some guy"—I turned my head to face him—"who's gonna kick your ass."