AN: I've had no time to write as of late, but three weeks is kinda crazy. So my bad OG, take this chapter as reparations.
*****
Freak and Saji lunged right at each other.
Freak threw a punch at Saji's head.
Saji ducked under it and, without hesitation, brought his hand cannon right at Freak's face.
Saji saw the smile on Freak's face only get more intense and dropped the pole he was holding in his other hand.
Right as the pole was about to touch the ground… Saji bent his wrist ever so slightly.
BANG!
And pulled the trigger; a bright white bullet escaped the barrel.
Freak tilted his head to the side, the bullet barely grazing his cheek as it sped past him.
Saji... had missed.
Freak brought up a hand and brought it down like a spear, aimed right at Saji's face!
But Saji's face... held no fear.
The bullet Saji had fired raced towards something behind Freak…
A bubble with an almost golden-yellow glow in its very center.
As the tip of the light bullet touched the surface of the bubble, the bubble did not burst; it simply gave way to the bullet, as if welcoming it.
The bullet stopped moving as its tip pierced the light inside.
The light within the bullet amplified, making it glow brighter than ordinary light magic should, but strangely, the light it emitted, it was not white; no, not anymore…
It was that of a bright yellow.
The instant he felt the surge of energy, Freak stopped his attack an inch away from Saji, and glanced over his shoulder, "[FACELIFT]!!!!!"
As he screamed, the skin under his bandages moved and hardened.
Freak pushed off his legs, the ground under him cratering… only to feel a hand grab onto his sweater as he gained some space.
The bullet's light intensified.
Clutching Freak's sweater, Saji dragged him close, wrapping both arms around him as his momentum carried both towards one direction.
Towards the bullet.
The muscles in Freak's abdomen bulged and shot forward!
SQUELCH!
Spikes broke through Freak's shirt as it pierced through Saji's abdomen, forcing his grip to loosen...
The towering figure of [FACELIFT] materialized behind Freak as it cocked a fist back and brought it forward right towards Freak's back!
As the fist approached, Freak's relief washed over him. 'The power of this punch should create enough distan—'
He didn't even get to finish his thought…
His vision blurred as all that was left was a golden-yellow light
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
*****
(Gasper's POV)
What surrounded me was nothing but warmth, one that practically begged me to stay… and honestly, I wanted to.
But for some reason, there was a faint rhythmic beating…
It almost resembled that of a heart.
It was slow, but with each beat I could feel my consciousness fading… ever so slowly.
Oh… there's even a nice breeze blowing on my face, like the one at a beach.
The beach… how long has it been since I've been there… honestly, I can't say I remember.
But I'm sure of it; that's probably where I am right now…
I opened my eyes ever so slightly to try and catch the glowing warmth of the sun… only to see a pinkish-red pulsating wall.
It had veins running down it, almost like…
My mind slowly regained clarity, 'Skin?'
So this isn't the beach, is it?
I shifted my gaze upward and found the source of the breeze.
It was my steel ball digging into the roof of this place.
It wasn't too far from me.
I blinked at it, my memories flashing back to me, 'oh… right'
The fight—we were fighting someone.
I tried to move my hand to grab my steel ball, only for my hand not to move.
I then tried again, only to fail again.
I tried to move my head, only for that too to be in vain; it seemed like my body was fully submerged in some type of substance.
Actually, now that I look closer, my steel ball is deflecting something—something that was trying to reach my face!
I looked at it struggle against my steel ball, a blank expression on my face.
'To be able to control the very shape of something with a touch, be it organic or not, makes him unbeatable.'
That was the thought that ran through my head when I first saw Freak's Stand ability.
To face complete transmutation at a graze of a fingertip, that would not be something Saji and I can beat, as we prefer combat up close.
But…
My mind flashed back…
To the birds being perfectly fine after exploding into blood.
To us gaining limbs and losing them right after… hell, even the objects he puts limbs on…
They all have one thing in common: they lose their mutations through damage, reverting to the way they were before like nothing happened
It was a gamble to get swallowed, but if his ability truly was to morph the thing he touches… Then how is it that I'm able to retain consciousness, and how is my steel ball here with me fighting back?
A crazy thought crossed my mind.
'What if… his ability isn't reshaping at all…'
The rotation of my steel ball intensified as whatever was holding me down began to vibrate with intensity…
'His stand ability...'
With much effort, I raised my arms, blood spewing as I parted the living flesh that was holding me down.
I jumped right towards my steel ball as a bright blue energy embraced my body.
"[LAGTRAIN]!"
[LAGTRAIN] appeared in front of me and gripped the vibrating ceiling…
RIIIIIP!
Slowly, [LAGTRAIN] ripped the slimy surface apart with its bare hands!
'I… I think I know what his stand ability is!'
*****
As the smoke cleared, two combatants could be seen.
They had their backs towards each other.
Freak's back was charcoal black.
He clenched his fist as his ring finger crumbled away.
Pink flesh trailed down his arm, covering what was left of the finger as it molded itself into a new one.
Dust from his back blew towards Saji and past him.
Saji sighed as the left side of his face steamed; a bright red burn stuck to half of his face.
He extended his left hand to the side; a line shot out from his gauntlet and returned with the same sharp light pole he had let go earlier.
He gave it a good swing as he looked at a bullet casing on the ground.
'One,' Saji thought.
Freak turned to Saji and leapt towards him, a green aura enveloping him.
[FACELIFT] appeared in front of Freak and lifted its leg.
As they approached, Saji turned to them and jumped back as [FACELIFT] struck the ground he was standing on, covering Freak in a cloud of dust!
As Saji landed, the cloud of dust dispersed as fast as it came.
[FACELIFT]'s arms moved rapidly, poking at every individual particle of dust in the air!
Its movements were so rapid that it generated a strong wind each time it moved its arms, completely blowing away the dust!
Saji stood there confused.
Was this a show of dominance or something?
Saji's eyes widened as he felt something hot behind him.
He turned and saw a hand suspended in mid-air, pointing a magic circle right at him!
Saji tried to dodge out of the way as a magical beam was fired, the beam going right through his left earlobe, leaving a small hole.
As Saji regained his bearings… he felt it: multiple magic signatures, all identical to each other!
They were everywhere: in the air, the cracks between buildings, even one on a car's hood!
There were hands everywhere
And they all fired without warning!
Saji quickly raised his left hand, releasing a line onto a street lamp, and swung himself away.
Multiple beams of energy fell right where he had just been standing, exploding as they collided with one another.
Saji retracted his line mid-air as another volley tried to hit him, only for them to fall short by a hair's length.
His feet slammed onto the side of a building, but he did not let gravity take over him.
With mana and light energy flowing through every pore of his body, he took a step on the wall.
And then another, not slowing down as he ran on the wall.
Each time his shoe made contact, it left an imprint on the concrete!
Beams of energy rained down on him, barely missing as they pierced right through the wall, making several holes.
Eventually, a part of the wall couldn't take it anymore and gave way, revealing an extremely buff dark-haired man in a business suit… holding a magical girl disc set that had a smoking hole right through it.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" the man cried out in absolute despair.
Saji holstered his hand cannon and jumped off the side of the building, landing on a rooftop, but his feet did not stop moving, his eyes dead set on what was in front of him.
The wall of a building.
One taller than the one he was on.
As he reached the end of the rooftop, he leapt at the wall as what he was standing on got vaporized by a beam.
Saji brought back a clenched fist; his momentum carried him towards the wall.
'No matter what I throw at him… he'll just heal it.'
Saji threw a punch at the wall. Cracks spread across it as the top portion of the building exploded, turning the top section of the building into falling debris.
And with that came…
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
People falling with it too.
Saji's eyes widened. 'Why the hell are there still people here?!'
Since when do people hear an explosion and think, 'Let me stick around and see what happens?!'
Freak hummed as he lost sight of Saji, dust from the building completely covering the upper layers.
Saji stepped on one of the platforms he just made and took off running.
He jumped off and raised his left hand, blue lines escaping his gauntlet.
All of the lines wrapped around the falling civilians.
With a twist of his body, Saji threw them all out of harm's way right into the building he was running on before… into the room with the buff man
As the buff man, Milton, saw the civilians hurtling toward him, he instinctively ducked as the civilians slammed right into his wall.
As the dust settled and he recovered his vision
it was then that horror settled into Milton's heart.
He slowly turned to where the people were thrown… only to see they were completely fine.
"How…?" Milton mumbled out… then he saw it… each and every person had a thin purple aura surrounding them, one that was fading fast.
Milton dropped his magical girl disk set, eyes wide.
He turned his gaze to the opening in his home and gulped.
His mind trembled... and he took a step forward.
.
.
.
.
Saji kept running yet again, reaching the end of the debris he was on, so he jumped, landing on another segment of the falling building.
Multiple beams of magic came through the smoke, revealing Saji.
Freak smirked as he saw his figure; each hand that was firing blindly turned to the ant-like figure of Saji.
With each step Saji took, it was as if he was getting lighter.
His legs and arms swung at such speeds that they looked like nothing but a blur!
The thin white aura of light surrounding him intensified!
Saji jumped once more.
.
.
.
.
Milton stared on as beams of magic rained upon what seemed to be a being made of pure light moving at speeds he thought were impossible…
Milton bit his lower lip hard… and a tear rolled down his face…
"Magic is…"
His eyes released a river of tears!
"MAGIC!!! IS REALLLLLL!!!!!!"
.
.
.
.
Saji turned his gaze towards Freak…
'If he can heal from everything I throw at him with time…'
Saji crouched low, grabbing his pole with both his hands, as his hair was pulled up by the wind.
A radiant white light engulfed the pole.
'Then I won't leave him with anything left to heal!!'
And a purple magic circle spread under his feet.
Every nerve in his body screamed as the foreign energy cycled through his body's systems.
Blood fell from his nose.
Saji pushed off the piece of the debris, sending it barrelling down towards the earth!
A volley of energy beams followed him into the sky.
As Saji's ascent slowed, Freak fired a new volley of energy beams… Saji could not dodge them.
His thighs, his right earlobe, and his left shoulder were shot right through.
Saji's body leaned back as his blood flowed out of him.
His eyes fogged.
Freak looked at bleeding Saji in the sky. 'For someone not chosen, he had a lot of guts, but that's all I'll give him.'
Freak closed his eyes at his work, satisfied, and turned around.
He walked away as every single one of his hands charged up one final attack.
One meant to send Saji to the next dimension.
Saji closed his eyes as he reached the apex of his jump… and took a deep breath.
Pure annoyance settled into his heart.
Shaking, he brought his free hand forward as his bloodshot eyes focused… not at the several beams approaching him with the intent of ending him…
But to the back of the man walking away.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
'So this is what you meant… isn't it…
Gasper.'
.
..
…
"I HAVE YOU NOW!" Saji, in a sweatsuit, screamed as he held multiple absorption lines together.
The lines were grinding against multiple trees, creating what looked like a spider web, and in the middle of the web…
Was Gasper
He had trapped him… HE HAD WON!!
Over five hundred losses, but he had won!
Saji closed his eyes and turned around and jumped as he struck the air multiple times in celebration.
Saji grabbed his shirt and pulled it to the side. "WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!'
GRIP!
Saji's eyes went wide as he felt someone grab the side of his head and tilt it!
Something sharp dug into his neck.
NOM!
"OUCH!" Saji jumped away as he turned his sights on who just did that, only to see Gasper with an unimpressed face.
"And just like that, you died drained dry of all your energy by an evil vampire God of the holy land," Gasper said, giving him a sad look, "What a tragedy, truly."
"But… how? Wait, you cheater!!" Saji pointed at Gasper as he put his hand on his neck, only to feel it be completely smooth as if Gasper did absolutely nothing.
"You stopped time, didn't you!?"
Gasper looked back at the trap Saji had meticulously set for him. "No, I didn't; I just jumped over your lines and ran on them."
"Yeah, right. If you stepped on any, you would have been sucked dry of all your mana." Saji said, narrowing his eyes at Gasper.
"You're right, I would have."
Saji sighed, "Exactly so you chea—"
"If you were able to perceive me at that moment in time, I would be drained of all mana; that is the undeniable truth." Gasper gained a knowing smile. "But you couldn't, could you? After all, you weren't even looking at me."
"But even if you were, I doubt that you would have been able to perceive my movements."
Saji stayed silent as he looked at the ground.
He lost again.
He clenched his fists…
He was so close this time too.
Hearing nothing from Saji, Gasper walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, don't worry about it too much; after all, you're just starting out. This is what training is for." Gasper gave him a reassuring smile. "Now, how about we go get some food, maybe some pie? heh?"
Saji merely nodded silently.
And as he went to go grab his stuff, Gasper Spoke.
"I think this goes without saying, especially with how this spar ended, but I'll say it anyway."
Saji walked back to Gasper.
"Saji… Never turn your back on your opponent; that is the height of disrespect and arrogance."
Gasper looked at him with such seriousness that it made him question if he really was Gasper.
"If I ever catch you doing it again, especially towards me, don't blame me if I strike you with the very thing you lack…"
"Lack? Lack What?" Saji asked.
"Huh, you seriously haven't figured it out yet even after all this time?…* sigh* fine, let this great one spell it out for you."
"What you lack is—"
*****
"Hunger," Saji whispered out.
The hunger to surpass the opponent standing before you.
The hunger to consume everything your opponent has to offer!
Saji gripped the pole tight as light enveloped it.
Its shape looked more like a spear made of light than a light pole.
The heat radiating from it singed the tips of his hair.
The hunger to WIN.
Saji brought forward his Spear as the beams of magic got dangerously close…
And threw it.
KRAKA—BOOOOOOOOOM!
As it left his hand, a shock wave exploded outward, destroying every window in the immediate vicinity.
It crashed into the beams of magic only to tear right through them, its descent to the ground setting ablaze any trees in the vicinity!
At the sound of the shock wave, Freak turned around only to see what appeared to be a shooting star descending onto Earth with incredible speed!
Freak's eyes widened, and on pure instinct he extended his right hand forward…
And right as the Spear was about to reach him… he closed his hand.
SIZZLE!!!!
Gripping the pole of pure light, his right hand was tossed to the side as he was dragged across the floor.
He tried to skid to a stop, but it was in vain as he went through several buildings, not even close to slowing down!
Each building collapsed on impact.
As gravity took hold, Saji thrust his left hand downward.
Eight blue lines burst from his gauntlet, intertwining before spreading outward in completely separate directions.
Saji fell back first in the middle of his makeshift spider web, as it bounced him back into the air.
He flipped himself over, planting his feet right in the middle of his lines.
He gripped his shoulder as he put pressure on the wound.
His legs were shaking as his tights bled.
The pain was excruciating, but he felt worse before.
He looked out towards the trail of destruction his attack just made, and Guilt washed over him, even knowing that most of the people more than likely already left this part of town... well, if they had a sane mind, that is, with the amount of commotion and mayhem that they had just caused.
But even so, the possibility was still there that he hit someone.
With his right hand, he reached into his pocket, taking out his phone… only to hear A sharp wind break through the silence.
SLASH!
BOOOOM!
Half of Saji's vision became red.
Drip!
Confused, he raised a hand to his forehead and touched something warm and wet.
It was blood.
Somehow, the left side of his forehead had a huge gash on it!
Saji turned his gaze to the building beside him; the same Pole he had just thrown was embedded in the cracked wall.
Saji looked back at the collapsed buildings, only seeing dust.
Then… something shot itself right through with incredible speed, parting the dust.
It was heading right towards Saji!
It was Freak!
Saji drew both of his hand cannons with a calm look on his face.
He pointed one forward right toward Freak and the other… right behind him.
BANG!
'Two'
He shot behind himself, hitting a hand pointing a magic circle right at him.
The hand crumbled away, revealing the form of the pole that was embedded in the wall.
Saji saw Freak approaching, with a completely black arm.
Every attempt to heal it resulted in the goo crumbling to dust.
Saji slowly squeezed the trigger.
'Three,' he thought.
But before the shot could go off…
A voice broke through Saji's focus.
One coming directly from Freak's pants!!!
"Chu—"
Freak's pants pocket bulged.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPP!
Pink flesh and torn fabric exploded outward.
And what followed that
"Chumimin~"
Was Gasper!
He was smiling ear to ear as the light of the sun once again blessed him.
Gravity immediately took hold of him, and blue energy surrounded him.
"[LAGTRAIN]"
Gasper stopped in mid-air, almost as if he was stopped in time!
Saji felt something touch his ears
"Huh. When did you get your ears pierced?" said a familiar voice.
Saji turned, seeing a face that almost made him want to cry with relief.
Gasper was cringing HARD, "Your grandpa's going to kill me...."
←–TO BE CONTINUED—