Last Stand

The music of the undead band blared through the night. The flashing lights could be seen clearly all the way from town. The citizens knew that the Bardic Legion had made an appearance. They excitedly packed up various beverages, snacks, and blankets for the viewing.

Aki, Lyra, and Bolto pushed their way through the crowd to get to the front of the mosh pit that formed moments before. The townspeople danced and pushed against each other, spraying fizzy beverages over each other to the music. Aki made it to the makeshift fence that served as a barrier to keep people out of harm's way.

Haruto stood firm against Kael, broken limbs, twisted neck, looking like a mutilated corpse, but still getting his shots in. Her regeneration potion should have been healing him if he drank it. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him stand again and again.

"What's wrong with him?" Lyra asked.

Aki turned to her with big fat tears in her eyes. "I finally meet a guy, and I turn him into a zombie!"

Lyra hugged her to her chest as she wailed. "Hey... it happens..."

"Does it?!" Bolto exclaimed.

A maniacal laugh escaped Haruto's broken throat as he held Yggdrasil to his chest. A warm light emitted from the humble stick, and Haruto's bones began to snap into place, his wounds mending. The crowd’s cheers turned to a hushed awe as the light spread across Haruto’s body. His twisted neck cracked back into place with a sickening pop. He rolled his shoulders, then spat blood onto the ground.

"You can't cheat death forever!" Kael’s lip curled.

"I don’t need forever..." Haruto laughed again, raspy but stronger this time. "I just need long enough to beat the shit out of you!”

The band behind them kicked up the tempo, drums pounding like war itself. The mosh pit roared, chanting in rhythm as if they could feed the underdog strength through cheers alone.

With Yggrdrasil's healing, Haruto had regained some of his stamina as well. Kael had been fighting heavy hitter after heavy hitter while chasing Haruto. He was physically exhausted but still more powerful in every way compared to Haruto.

If he didn't have his Stick Hero job, Yggdrasil, and the help from so many, Haruto would have died several times over to this monster. But now it was time for him to do what his mother taught him. When someone starts a fight, he finishes it.

Haruto and Kael ran at each other. Haruto tugged at the knot of his tie as he used Stick Hero's reactions to dodge Kael's martial arts. The tie whipped forth as he changed to Blue Tie Assassin, wrapping it around Kael's wrists. Kael's stored impact slammed into Haruto's head as he swung behind him, pulling Kael's arms around.

Kael planted his foot, storing the impact of his step, and placing it under Haruto's feet, throwing him into the air. Haruto switched to Fanservice Delivery Boy, posing in midair, his shirt unbuttoning itself. Kael stopped his foot before it connected, his brain rebooting for a moment at the sight of Haruto's sparkling body.

The audience howled, throwing fizzy drinks into the air. Aki's nose burst with blood as she watched him. Kael had hesitated just enough for Haruto to switch back to Stick Hero, dodging the kick and coming down on the top of his head with his "Flurry of Sticks."

Although Haruto still didn't know for sure what Kael's job was, he had realized that he could only nullify the first hit from Yggdrasil when he spent Barrage Stacks. While one hit from Yggdrasil didn't do much damage, up to ten hits at a time made up for that downside. Especially when the first hit would be absorbed, letting the others go through.

Kael roared, catching Haruto’s leg mid-swing and driving a kick into his chest that sent ribs snapping like brittle twigs. Haruto coughed blood, but instead of retreating, he laughed, the sound grating and broken. He shifted again to Blue Tie Assassin, his tie snapping like a serpent, binding Kael’s ankle.

Kael retaliated instantly, his heel flashing up in a brutal arc. Haruto barely got his forearm up to block the strike. The bone flexed inward as Kael's heel connected. Haruto rolled across the broken ground, sliding to a stop. He stared at Kael like a wild animal.

The audience gasped as Haruto’s arm swung at his side, broken and barely hanging by torn skin. Kael was slowing down. He had lost too much stamina and hit points from his fights up until now. He sneered at Haruto, hoping that another broken arm would dissuade him.

"Come on, bro! Just give it up." Kael said with a quiver in his voice. "I can keep breaking you, or you can let me end it painless-"

Anger Issues Activated

Haruto wrapped his tie around his arm where it was broken, in a tourniquet. He grabbed the dangling and worthless limb. He stretched the skin tight, severing the flesh with his teeth. Kael couldn't keep talking after that.

"Shut up!" Haruto spat out the blood, shoved Yggdrasil into his mouth to hold it, and with his free hand gripped the jagged stump of his own bone. "We're going at it until I'm satisfied!"

"I guess there's always someone crazier out there!" Kael said, taking a step forward.

The music picked up again as the ghostly singer screamed. The crowd chanted in time as the skeletal guitarist's bony fingers shredded the strings.

Kael bounded forward, propelled by the impacts beneath his feet. The earth itself cracked under the force of his leap, his body blurring as he closed the gap. Haruto clamped his teeth on Yggdrasil as he changed to Sprinter (Flee). He ran to the side, abusing the definition of "flee" to dodge the human missile. He was technically running away from him.

"You think you can outspeed me?!" Kael shouted, planting his foot in the stone ground. He repeated the impact on himself, expanding its power and radius each time until the power of the impact exploded behind him.

Kael was upon him, faster than the speed of sound, dragging his fist through the ground in an uppercut. Haruto swung his head and switched back to Stick Hero, connecting with a parry using Yggdrasil. Haruto spiraled into the sky as Kael threw rapid-fire punches upward.

The sky was streaked with distorted space created by the amplified impacts as he projected them into the air at rapid speed. Haruto met each impact with Yggdrasil, bouncing off of them and twisting to change directions midair, just as Kael had used them to fly before. He fell, aiming himself at Kael.

With a roar, Kael pressed the impact down on himself once more, cratering the area in a 500-meter radius. The wind generated from the impact threw the audience back, and rubble was thrown into the air. The undead band's stage rocked and flew into the sky without missing a beat of the song.

After absorbing the impact pressing down on him, he readied himself to fire after Haruto, meeting him in the air. But then, his knee buckled. He fell, catching himself with one fist.

His mind raced, searching for the reason... and there it was. A small piece of metal, a paperclip, was lodged in his knee. He never felt it, but the impacts he had been taking, every step he made, had gotten him closer to giving out. He looked back to the sky and smiled.

The loser from another world dove at him, ready to end this fight. Kael raised his fist, releasing an impact strong enough to turn the mountain into dust. Haruto grinned through blood-stained teeth and threw his severed arm toward the heart of the impact, pointy end first. The jagged stump flew like an arrow, piercing the devastating kinetic energy like a slipstream. A notification popped up beside it as it collided with the impact.

Passive Activated: Survivor

Haruto's arm continued its flight down, sending the uncontrolled impact into the night, and imbedded itself into Kael's shoulder. Just behind it, unharmed by the destructive energy sent his way, Haruto spun like a top, Yggdrasil in hand. The air howled. The shockwave ripped apart the clouds, shattered stone, and blotted out all sound briefly before being replaced by a shout of rebellion.

“FLURRY OF STICKS!”

Haruto screamed as his voice melded with the gritty screams of the Bardic Legion. Yggdrasil cracked down on Kael, denting in his face with ten impacts at once. Haruto wouldn't let up though. This was the only chance he'd get to finish this, and he had to capitalize.

Each blow landed harder and faster until the rhythm blurred into pure violence. Sticks rained like thunder, dozens of impacts chaining together as the crowd screamed, the band shredding faster to keep up. Then it came.

Stick Hero's level has increased!

Kael’s guard was shattered. His body buckled as Haruto drove his stick down. With the last strike, Haruto drove Kael into the crater he had made himself, the earth splitting in jagged fractures around them.

When the dust finally settled, Haruto was standing. He swayed, one arm gone, clothes in tatters, Yggdrasil trembling in his grip. Kael lay broken at his feet, still breathing but beaten, Haruto's arm still lodged in his shoulder.

The crowd erupted. Haruto raised Yggdrasil to the sky as he fell backwards. His back hit the ground as the Bardic Legion’s final note played.