Chapter 15: Brawler's Gambit

Kenji

My teeth clack together painfully as we crash through the wall out into the dark woods. Even in the armor, this guy’s punches hurt! Dammit! I can't make any ground against him! He blocks another one of my strikes, ducks under my roundhouse before kneeing me in the groin.

“Arghh!”

Minerva’s already scanned him three times with no weak points to show for it. Bisanu has no openings! It’s like fighting a brick wall that hits like a truck! It's all I can do to keep my head from being knocked off. My chest still aches from his first hit and the other injuries are starting to add up. The adrenaline isn’t blocking out the pain anymore, my vision’s starting to blur too. How much longer can I hold out?

“You’re not done yet are you?! I’m just getting warmed up but I can feel you slowing down!”

He’s not wrong. He punches me and even though I guard, I’m sent flying into and through a pine tree.

[Your remaining power supply is at (35%).]

I've already lost half the power I started with. If I don't think of something fast, I’m toast! Bisanu strolls casually towards me. He’s absolutely relentless, probably close to Metial in terms of raw power. What I need is some fire power. A gun! If this were mechaforce, I’d have some kind of repulsor cannon or missiles.

[Downloading mental model for REPULSOR CANNON. 20% of your current power is required to fabricate. Would you like to proceed?]

What the hell? You can do that?! Yes! Do it now!

The armor begins to reconfigure along my arm. More plates start to form, reshape and overlap. When the last piece falls into place, I have a sleek futuristic looking cannon attached to my arm! Bisanu is just a few meters away. I take aim…

Fire!

A bright blue beam shoots out and slams into my enemy’s chest.

“Gwarrghh!!”

Bisanu is sent spinning backward head over heels. When he finally comes skittering to a stop, he looks at me bewildered.

The barrel is red hot and crackling with energy. Now that’s what I’m talking about! A mech suit should have guns! I rush forward until I’m at point blank range. I aim the cannon at his head.

Fire!

[Insufficient charge. The remaining power supply is (10%).]

Aw damn. Bisanu dusts himself off, standing back up and towering over me.

“Never seen a spell quite like that. It hurt.” He says with a crazed smile.

Aside from a bit of charred skin on his chest, he barely looks phased by the blast. I leap backward to put some distance between us. Dammit! I need more power! I doubt there are any mana crystals in the middle of the forest though. There’s a sudden explosion overhead.

We both take note as two figures fly above us, blasting at each other with red and green energy. Rina! She must be fighting the lieutenant!

“Agh, what a pain. You brought friends? You’re really making a mess of things ya know? Guess I’ll stop messing around and end this.” Bisanu says, stalking toward me.

There’s only one thing I haven't tried. My leg holster pops open and I draw the beam sword. It flashes to life in an instant, illuminating the darkness.

[Holy Photon Blade: Online]

“Oooo pretty! If we’re whipping out swords now, let me show you mine.” Bisanu sneers.

He pulls his massive greatsword from its place on his back and points it at me one handed. The thing looks like it weighs 4 tons! Suit or not, If I get hit by that, I’m finished. I prepare myself as best I can.

Bisanu leaps at me with a crazy overhead strike. No way I’m gonna try and block that! I drop and roll to the side, narrowly dodging the slab of steel. It leaves a huge gash in the earth where I was just standing. There’s no time to reorient myself when the next strike comes. I parry low, saving my legs from being hacked off. The momentum of his attack sends me flying back as he cleaves a tree in half. How is he still faster than me? My sword literally weighs nothing! Bisanu starts to press forward with the onslaught. It’s a desperate dance to keep all my limbs attached. Parry, dodge, parry, dodge. There’s still no opening to attack.

“Come on now! I thought you were a real man! Stop fighting like a coward!” Bisanu is laughing. He’s genuinely enjoying this. What a psycho!

[Your remaining power supply is at (4%).]

He’s right though. I’m still fighting scared. If I want to change the outcome here, I need to take a risk. I can’t beat him with raw strength. What I need is to shift the paradigm. As I dodge another strike, I get a very stupid idea. I think I saw it in a movie once.

Minerva must sense what I’m thinking because she immediately objects.

[Void Walker. Your proposed strategy is too dangerous. Please refrain from-]

I don't have a lot of options here! I gotta do something before my batteries die!

I wait for the bandit leader to go for another overhead swing. Everything slows down as my adrenaline kicks into overdrive. I bring the photon blade up to block in a backhand swing, but at the last second I turn it off. The blade fizzes out. With my off hand, I catch Bisanu’s blade to cushion the blow. I feel the blade cut into my hand and shatter my humerus bone. Intense pain shoots through my entire arm. I have to ignore it though! In the same instance, I reposition the hilt of my sword, pointing it at Bisanu’s stomach. The beam reignites, piercing his gut. He looks down in surprise. I’d say something quippy but my freaking arm is mangled now!

“That was very tricky of you. It’s been years since anyone stabbed me!”

A bit of blood trickles out of his mouth. The maniac is still smiling! What's worse, he hasn't stopped pressing down on my ruined arm with his greatsword. Even with my blade in his stomach, he doesn't let up! If anything I can feel him getting stronger! My arm crumples as he pushes me into the ground with a loud SLAM!

I blackout out for a second or two. When my vision comes back, the beast of a man is standing over me as I lay on my back. My sword is still in him by the way. He brings his own massive blade over his head, pausing for a moment.

“You got me fair and square so I’ll be nice. Any last words?”

I stare at him hatefully. I’m not giving up! There must be something else I can do!

In that moment, we are both completely shocked as Bisanu’s right arm at the elbow just kind of… comes off. It and the sword land in the dirt with a heavy thunk.

“What in the hells?” Bisanu says. He’s more confused than anything and I’m right there with him honestly.

“That’s the second time I’ve had to save your ass kid. You officially owe me and I aint a cheap date.” Kizzik flicks the blood from their cleaver, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

Bisanu roars in rage. Missing an arm and he still isn't done with us. A tremendous wave of red energy erupts from him. It’s like being in a hurricane!

“Ah hells, time to go!” Kizzik helps me narrowly dodge being stomped on.

“That was kind of my big move Kenji! Not sure we can beat this guy!” Kizzik yells.

I’m inclined to agree. Bisanu either can't feel the pain or he just doesn't care. He charges at us swinging wildly. He is slowing down though. The visor starts to highlight the little openings that are appearing now. Its do or die time. I have another idea. But it’s gonna suck.

“I’ll bait out a heavy attack! When you see the opening, take it!” I shout to Kizzik. They nod, splitting off from me to flank the berserker. I throw myself at him in a last ditch effort. I grab the hilt of the photon blade and yank it out. Bisanu roars again bringing his fist down on my shoulder. Its like a boulder falling on me but I stay standing this time. I stab the blade into his meaty forearm and lock it in place.

“Now!”

Right on queue, Kizzik flashes forward, stabbing Bisanu in his ribs, spilling blood onto the fallen pine needles. He finally stops, stumbling backward. The bandit leader falls onto his back, blood leaking from his wounds. Bisanu coughs up a lot of blood. He’s still breathing somehow.

“You. I’ll… crush you!” He tries to sit up but his body won't obey him. He falls back into the dirt with a thud.

Without warning, he’s suddenly wrapped in a dense green smoke. Kizzik and I spring forward to finish him off but he's gone in an instant. We’re both left scratching our heads.

“What the- What just happened?!” I turn to Kizzik but they just shrug. That’s when Rina walks up behind us. She scowls.

“Stupid little fox got away from me. She transported them both away from here when she saw there was no hope of winning.” She spits on the ground.

“Ah, bad luck. Oh well. That’s a problem for another day.” Kizzik says. “I’d say let's grab a drink but…” We take a look back at the bandit camp. Its mayhem. The bandits that are left are fleeing in all directions. With no leaders, they fall apart.

“Let’s go free those people.” I say.

Rina says something but I don't hear it. The world goes sideways as I fall to the ground. The pain of all my injuries hit me at once. It's so horrific my brain just decides to black out instead.