Azaria 2-14

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Chapter 14: Title Match

Lance

The change of leadership in the gang proceeded much more smoothly than I honestly expected. Only one man, a guy named Owen, challenged Luna for the chief’s position. I could sense a decent strength from him, but he wasn’t anything compared to Twenty-one’s boss. When Luna demanded a fight, I stepped forward and cracked my knuckles. A personal achievement given my claws.

“Bring it little man,” I growled. He pursed his lips annoyed then gestured for someone behind him. Another man stepped forward. He was a good level higher on the strength pole than the first one, but from his expression that clearly said he was only good for following orders, I understood the power dynamic instantly.

“Heh! Like that armor is going to save you! Sao can crush steel with his bare hand!” Owen said with a laugh. He handed what looked like a bar of steel to Sao who proceeded to crumple it forming dents where his fingers had been. I licked my lips as I wondered if I could harvest that superhuman strength. I used my power and looked Sao over then grinned exposing my fangs.

“Luna. Let me have Sao’s body after this,” I said ignoring Owen.

“Umm, sure.” I didn’t care what she thought I was going to do with it. I had my goals. Shame wasn’t something I could afford. In fact, I was sure I left my shame behind after I became a Chimera. I was technically naked after all. Exoskeleton plates covered my privates from view. It still would have made my face burn red before. Now, it was more like an interesting fact at the back of my head.

Stepping toward the two men, the other members of the gang backed away quickly. Powered fights weren’t something to get in the middle of. Sao walked forward to, but I felt he wasn’t really looking at me. Something was damaged in his head and he was simply doing what Owen ordered.

“Sorry, big man,” I said once we were directly in front of each other.

He tilted his head before he swung his brick sized hand around at me. He wasn’t just strong, he was fast. The punch had to be the fastest attack that I had seen since I had really entered the Powered realm of combat. Just to see what I was dealing with, I brought up my arm to block the blow. It was like being hit by a bus. I flew through the air and slammed into a pillar.

Coughing, I pushed myself back up. “I felt that. At least this will be interesting.” I lunged through the air at Sao bringing my clawed fist up aiming for his head. Even if he wasn’t all there, he apparently knew how to fight. He stepped back with a calmness and brought his hand around to slap my attack away. Even though it was more of a glancing blow, it still nearly broke my wrist.

I hopped back cupping my hand as it throbbed painfully. Sao bent over and before I could react, the piece of steel he’d crushed early came flying at my head. I managed to dodge, but it put me off balance. Sao’s foot met my midsection and I spun through the air. I had wanted to avoid using my skills, but it looked like I had no choice.

Slamming my hand on the ground, I groaned as I pushed myself back up. I was sure a rib or two was broken. Sao steadily walked over as he raised his fist into the air. I waited until he was right on me, then used Scurry. I flashed behind him and brought my claws down across his back. A splash of blood covered my face, but I knew I had only scratched the surface. The wounds were far from fatal.

Sao spun and backhanded me in the process. I crashed into a table in the underground bar as I was sent through a wall from the parking garage. Sao followed me through the wall, making a new passage in the process. Like I said, you didn’t get in the middle of two powered fighting. I reached over and took the drink that had survived the impact of me on the table. I chugged in before tossing the glass aside.

“Time to get serious,” I mumbled standing. I had to avoid using acid or poison if I could. I really wanted Sao’s abilities and my harvest skill was telling me they could be mine. I had never seen something glow gold before. His skill was likely one in a million if not rarer.

I made as if I was clicking something and flipped out the scythe blades. Cracking my neck, I charged at Sao. His eyes followed my every move with ease. I almost felt bad that this man was being used by Owen as a simple goon. If his mind was intact, he might be on par with Neo and the others.

Sao met my charge with a jab that shifted the air around him. I managed to duck and bring my scythe around. The blade dug into his arm, but only cut a few inches. I had another two or three before I even reached bone let alone cut the limb off. At least it served to actually harm the giant.

I yanked the blade free then hopped back, before shifting and charging from another direction. This was the most I had used Scurry in such a rapid succession. I could feel the drain on my Aether. At least the energy was being used for once. Sao tried to keep up, but I changed my path at random to keep from being predictable. He still managed to catch me twice in my assault, sending me flying several feet each time.

Breathing heavily with my body bruised even with my exoskeleton providing protection, Sao and I stared each other down. He grimaced from his own pain. It was hard to tell if he was hurt in any meaningful way. The fight had moved back out into the parking garage.

“Call this off and I’ll tell him to let the girl live,” Owen said in the background.

“From the way it looks, I should be saying that to you,” Luna shot back.

“Scratches. Nothing that Sao can’t handle.”

“I’m surprised you were hiding such a valuable fighting asset from the rest of the gang,” Luna grumbled.

“Did I mess up your plan?” Owen said with a laugh. “Oh wait. I don’t know anything about that.” He laughed even harder after that.

I tuned to the two of them out. Even if they called this off, I wanted Sao’s power more than ever. I would stop at nothing to get it after having experienced it. I concentrated on my blades and created a low dose of poison. Just strong enough to knock him out rather than rot or ruin his body.

Dropping into a crouch, I launched myself forward. He attempted to stop me, but I used another ability I hadn’t played with much. Using telekinesis, I forced his fist to pause long enough for me to score two good cuts along his waist and upper torso. He must have been adding force to the swing since once I released him, he punched into the ground hard enough to cause cracks to form over the entire level of the underground garage.

Taking advantage to his arm being wedged into the floor, I twisted and used my stinger to send several needles into his back with the same low level poison. He managed to rip his arm free and started toward me. He took maybe six steps before he dropped to one knee. He tried to rise several times before he fell forward, breathing heavily. I rushed over and slit his throat before the two could call the match.

“Impossible! What have you done!?”

“I won and thus so has Luna,” I replied sliding a hand along Sao’s body as it convulsed. The gold had distracted me, but almost every part of this man gave off a seductive glow of purple and blue. This was worth every bruise.

“That’s how it is,” Luna said turning to face Owen. “Are you going to keep working for me?”

“You fucking kidding me!?” Owen shouted with rage. “I’d rather die than work for a bitch like you!”

“Understood,” I said then used Scurry to appear in front of him. I slammed my scythe through his gut and sliced sideways. It was only a second or two before he went into shock. I looked his body over and spotted a few orange-colored organs. Not great, but every little bit helped. I place my hand on him once he died and threw him into my storage.

“You’re a bit different from early. Is everything alright?” Luna asked. My insanely grinning face must have given something away.

“Never better. I looked forward to working with you,” I said as I walked back over to Sao’s body. I glanced back with another grin. “Boss.”

She gulped then moved into the bar through the new hole in the wall. I heard her start to shout orders to get the mess and damage cleaned up. I kneeled and ran a hand across Sao’s face. He still lived, but I could see the life leaving him as I watched. There was something strangely fascinating about it. “Become part of me.” I chuckled as I realized once again. I was a complete monster now.'

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