Support me with power stones, give me some reviews and comments, and put this in your library so I know ya want more. It's a really good motivator for me, ya beautiful people!
════════════════
Quote of the Chapter:
"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."
— C.S. Lewis.
════════════════
He stood and began to shake his hand as fast as he could to get it off, then tried to pull it off with his other hand, yet it stayed stuck no matter what he did. "What the hell is going on now..."
Before Lorenzo could think any further, Ox lunged forward, charging through the hallway like a tank, spinning his gauntlet in the air.
"OH CMON ON—!" Lorenzo reacted instantly, flipping backward as the gauntlet slammed into the ground.
[BANG!!!]
Lorenzo twisted sideways and planted one foot against the wall, launching himself over Ox's shoulder just as the second gauntlet came crashing upward towards him, narrowly missing.
[CRASH!!!]
The attack tore through the ceiling instead, sending debris raining downward.
He flipped through the air and slid across the ground, but continued to move forward without slowing down.
Ox turned around instantly, one chain stretching outward as the gauntlet swept horizontally through the hallway. Lorenzo dropped low as it flew over his head before planting his hand against the floor and spinning, kicking toward Ox's knee.
[THUD!!]
Ox shifted slightly from the blow as Lorenzo's eyes narrowed slightly. "Gotcha."
Seeing that his attacks could still affect him somewhat, Lorenzo quickly got back up and began unloading strikes into Ox's ribs and face.
[BANG!!]
[THUD!!]
[CRACK!!]
Punch after punch landed against the armored giant.
It didn't significantly damage Ox; however, it slowed him down slightly and threw him off his bearings for a brief moment. Ox suddenly shot one massive arm outward as Lorenzo barely slipped past it and immediately countered with a knee strike directly to the face.
[BAM!!]
Ox's head snapped slightly to the side as his vision spun for a split second before slamming both fists into the ground.
[BBOOOOOOMMMMM!!!]
Lorenzo's eyes widened.
"…AH SHI—!" The blast caught him mid-step and launched him backward through the air.
However, before he could recover, one of Ox's massive gauntlets shot forward as the chain wrapped violently around Lorenzo's torso mid-air.
[CLANK!!]
"…WHAT?!" A second chain immediately wrapped around one of his legs as it tightened instantly, causing Lorenzo's body to jerk to a stop before being pulled towards Ox's direction violently.
"…THIS IS SO NOT FAIR—!" Concrete shattered around him as he was dragged through the destroyed hallway at terrifying speed, unable to regain control of his movement, no matter how hard he twisted.
Ox planted both feet firmly into the ground as the floor beneath him cracked.
Steam burst from the gaps in his armored frame as the monstrous creature slowly pulled one gauntlet backward as he began to wind up a powerful punch.
The crimson glow in his eyes intensified until they almost looked molten as Lorenzo's instincts screamed so loudly it felt like his head was splitting apart.
"…WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT—!"
But it was too late as the chains reeled him directly into Ox's range, and then Ox swung with an incredible amount of force behind his blow.
[BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!]
The punch landed directly into Lorenzo's chest, and the impact detonated through the hallway like a missile strike.
His body folded around the gauntlet as every ounce of air exploded from his lungs instantly. "…GHHHHKKK—!!"
And for a small moment, everything stood still before Lorenzo's body shot upward like a rocket.
[CRAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHH!!!]
The ceiling exploded as Lorenzo tore straight through it, concrete and steel erupting outward in every direction.
He smashed through the next floor, then another, before finally crashing into the hallway above.
[BANG!!]
[CRASH!!]
[BOOOOM!!]
His body skipped violently across the floor before slamming into a support pillar hard enough to crack it down the center.
Dust flooded the hallway above as chunks of concrete slowly crumbled from the massive hole Lorenzo had been punched through.
His body began to twitch slightly before he let out a cough. "…Uuuggghhh…"
Lorenzo slowly rolled onto his side, immediately clutching his chest with both hands as pain surged through his entire body. "My vital organs…"
He coughed violently. "…AAAGGGHHHH—!"
Pain shot through him so hard his vision blurred, and every breath he took made it even worse as his ribs felt like knives in his chest.
He slammed one fist weakly against the ground. "He punches as I owe him money, Jesus Christ..."
Below him, the sound of chains rattling echoed upward through the destroyed floors, and they were getting closer, extremely quickly.
Back on the lower floors, but in a completely different hallway, Victor was currently running for his life.
"…NOPE, FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK—!"
His bare feet slammed against the floor at full speed as he sprinted through the corridor while debris exploded behind him.
[CRAAASH!!!]
A bladed arm tore through the wall where his head had been moments earlier as Victor nearly tripped over himself. "…WHY ARE YOU SO FAST, DAMN IT?!" he shouted while throwing himself around the next corner.
Behind him, Mantis pursued relentlessly. Only now did he no longer resemble a human being, as his body had transformed into something monstrous.
Pale bio-armor wrapped tightly around his body, layered in smooth, segmented plates that resembled the hardened shell of an insect. Unlike Ox's bulky, overwhelming frame, Mantis's form was sleek and refined, built entirely for speed and precision.
Large armored shoulder plates curved outward from his upper body like folded insect wings, while narrow grooves ran across the armor, and his face had completely changed.
The smooth mask was gone, and in its place rested an insectoid helm with glowing crimson eyes and thin antenna-like protrusions extending upward from his head. His lower face was covered by layered armored plating, and his arms—
Victor's eyes twitched slightly. "…Yeah, no, those are definitely murder weapons."
Long blade-like appendages extended from both forearms, curved like scythes with jagged inner edges capable of carving through concrete and steel alike.
Even his legs had changed as the armor around them was thinner and more flexible than Ox's, clearly built for explosive movement rather than durability.
Put all that together, and it all comes down to one conclusion: a natural-born predator.
"COME ON, MAN!" Victor shouted while vaulting over broken debris. "I'm willing to reconsider surrender now!"
Mantis blurred forward again and moved fast enough to crack the floor beneath each step. "No." His distorted voice echoed coldly through the corridor as, in the next moment, a blade sliced past Victor's shoulder.
[SHNK!!]
Victor barely ducked under it.
"No more mercy."
"…THERE WAS MERCY?!" Victor yelled back in disbelief. Mantis then suddenly disappeared from behind him as Victor's instincts screamed instantly before he dropped low without thinking.
A bladed arm carved through the wall ahead instead of his head, splitting concrete apart like paper.
[SHRRAAAKKK!!!]
Mantis landed silently in front of him, blocking the hallway entirely as the crimson glow of his eyes flashed.
Victor skidded to a stop. "…Ah." He slowly straightened while breathing heavily. "…This is awkward."
Mantis stood motionless for half a second, crimson eyes locked onto Victor as dust slowly drifted through the destroyed hallway. His blades unfolded slightly as Mantis lowered his stance, and the armor along his legs shifted with a faint click. "You continue speaking despite knowing your situation."
Victor laughed nervously. "Yeah, that's kinda my coping mechanism."
The floor beneath Mantis cracked before he vanished.
[BBOOM!!]
Victor's instincts exploded with warning as he twisted sideways immediately as a blade carved through the space beside his neck.
[SHRRKK!!]
The wall behind him split apart instantly as Victor stumbled backward. "…SHIT!"
Mantis didn't stop as the insect-like creature blurred forward again with terrifying speed, both forearm blades gleaming beneath the flickering hallway lights.
Victor barely managed to lean backward as another slash passed inches from his face.
[SHNK!!]
A lock of hair drifted downward.
"…TOO CLOSE—!"
He immediately twisted sideways, trying to create distance, but Mantis was already there as one of his blades thrust forward instantly.
Victor's instincts screamed, and he tried to dodge, but unfortunately, he was too slow.
[SHLK!!]
The blade drove into Victor's chest directly as his eyes widened. "…GHHK—!"
The force behind the stab sent him skidding violently backward across the floor as the blade hit his chest.
Concrete scraped beneath his feet as Victor was sent backward from the force as Mantis prepared to finish him. Victor collapsed onto one knee immediately, clutching his chest hard from the pain. "…Cough—!"
He winced violently as he pressed his hand against where the blade should have pierced completely through him. "…Wait…wait what the hell?!" Victor's breathing shook.
There should have been a hole through his chest; Mantis's blade had landed cleanly. Victor felt it, and the pain was still there.
But when he looked down, he saw nothing. No wound or blood, not even a single scratch. Victor blinked repeatedly as his brain struggled to process what he was seeing. "…No, no, no, hold on." He looked down once more at his bare chest and saw no change, and it wasn't a trick from his imagination.
Mantis had stopped moving entirely as his insectoid eyes narrowed sharply. "…Impossible."
Victor slowly looked back up at Mantis, then back down at himself before going back at Mantis again. "…OH." A grin slowly spread across his face despite the lingering pain.
"…OH THAT'S ACTUALLY SO COOL." He stood up straighter now, patting his chest twice. "Okay, that hurt like absolute hell, but I think I just unlocked some protagonist bullshit."
Mantis's blades shifted slightly as he became cautious for the first time since this fight began. "…Your body, how is it possible... my blades can't cut anything that level of durability should not exist within an incomplete clone, not even most, if any, orphnoch can get cut by me and not be affected."
Victor immediately pointed at him. "What the hell do you mean by ' incomplete clone, and wait, did you just say Orphnoch?"
Mantis didn't answer; instead, the insect-like creature slowly raised both bladed arms again.
Victor stared at him for half a second before raising his fists again; however, this time, he wasn't panicking anymore as a grin stretched across his face. "Alright then." His neon blue eyes glowed brighter. "Now that I know you can't fatally stab me at least…" He lowered his stance slightly. "I'll make sure not to lose."
[BBOOOOMMMM!!!]
The hallway was filled with cracks as Mantis shot forward instantly, blades crossing toward Victor's neck and chest simultaneously.
Victor moved forward with reckless abandon as the blade scraped across his shoulder, sparks flying from the impact instead of blood, before slamming his fist directly into Mantis's ribs.
[BANG!!!]
Victor's eyes widened. "…Holy shit, that actually works! Wait...ow, ow, ow!"
Mantis immediately retaliated as a blade whipped toward Victor's face, and Victor ducked beneath it before driving another punch into Mantis's stomach.
[THUD!!]
Mantis answered instantly with a knee strike to Victor's ribs, launching him sideways.
Victor winced in pain as he slammed against the wall, stopping himself with one hand before pushing himself off the wall.
[BANG!!]
Victor shot back toward Mantis with surprising speed as his fist collided against one of the insectoid blades.
[SCHKKK!!]
The hallway echoed as the blade grinded against his fist before Mantis spun immediately with both blades, carving through the air violently.
Victor twisted between them, barely avoiding having his head separated from his body, with one slash, cutting the wall apart behind him, and the other slicing directly through the floor.
Victor's instincts screamed as he leaned backward just enough to avoid a thrust toward his throat before grabbing Mantis's wrist mid-motion. "Got you." Victor then slammed his forehead directly into Mantis's face.
[BAM!!!]
Mantis staggered backward as his vision blurred; however, Victor didn't let up after that, as his eyes glowed even brighter as he raised his arms in the same way Mantis did, with his stance perfectly mimicking Mantis in every way.
════════════════════════════════
To be continued in the next chapter of
RIDING THROUGH THE OMNIVERSE!
════════════════════════════════