White Fire

I stared at the daikon keychain dangling from Peng's flipper.

How did it-

CRASH.

The wall two buildings down exploded inward. Through the settling dust, those void eyes gleamed. The Rust's massive form filled the gap, appendages whipping as it tore into the next building.

CRASH.

Another wall down.

My fingers closed around the keychain, squeezing until the edges bite into my palm. Next to me Jiko slumped forward. Blood seeped between his fingers where they pressed against his side. His face went slack, eyes closed.

CRASH.

The wall two buildings down crumbled. Then the next one.

Is it worth my fist?

Bow boy saved my life when I first landed in this messed up world. Told me to run and leave him behind because he's a self-sacrificing idiot.

CRASH.

One hut left.

But what good would my fists do against that monster? I was just some angry kid who solved everything with violence. No special powers, no fancy weapons. Just scraped knuckles and a shitty attitude.

You know what? Fighting was the one thing I knew how to do. The one thing I'd always been good at, even if it caused nothing but trouble.

I pushed myself to my feet, legs trembling but holding. My shoulder screamed in protest as I raised my fists.

The wall exploded inward. Those void eyes locked onto me. My heart tried to hammer its way out of my chest.

But my fists stayed up.

The Rust's jaw split open, revealing rows of sharp teeth dripping with black liquid. It lunged straight for my head.

I pivoted on my back foot and threw everything I had into my punch. The motion sent fire through my injured shoulder but I didn't care. My knuckles connected with the side of its jaw-

And everything went white.

Light erupted from my fist, trailing behind the punch like a comet tail. The impact made a sound like sizzling meat, and the Rust's flesh actually burned where I hit it.

The force sent the monster flying sideways. It smashed through one decaying wall, then another, then another. The beast finally crashed into what remained of a hut, and the whole structure collapsed on top of it in a thunderous avalanche of rotting wood and debris.

I stared at my fists. Wisps of white energy still curled around my knuckles.

What the actual hell was that? I flexed my fingers, half expecting them to burst into flames or something. But they just felt... warm. Like I'd been holding them near a campfire.

A metallic screech pierced the air. The rubble exploded outward as the Rust burst free, its void eyes locked back onto me. Black fluid dripped from its fresh wounds.

I couldn't help but grin. The familiar rush of adrenaline flooded my system. How many times had I felt this? How many idiots had eaten my fists for running their mouths?

The Rust lunged, jaws widen again. I pivoted, throwing my whole body into an uppercut. White energy blazed along my hand as my fist connected with its jaw.

"THAT'S FOR FUCKING UP MY SHOULDER, YOU DIPSHIT!"

The monster crashed into the dirt. Before it could recover, I was on it. Another punch crashed into its ribs, trailing white fire.

"AND THAT'S FOR HURTING JIKO!"

The Rust tried to stand, its legs trembling. Black fluid leaked from its many cracks. Those eyes met mine again and for a moment, I saw Inorin's face trying to form in them again.

My vision went red. Energy exploded from my fist as I threw everything I had into one final punch.

"AND THIS IS FOR WEARING HER FACE!"

The impact cratered the ground beneath us. The Rust's body shattered, dissolving into black dust that scattered on the wind.

A yellow bar flickered into existence beside me, hovering. About an eighth of it glowed, the rest dim and empty.

I blinked hard. The bar vanished.

Great, now I'm hallucinating. Though considering my fists were still trailing white smoke like something out of an anime fight scene maybe a random progress bar wasn't the weirdest thing happening.

Then I finally noticed the ground around me. The impact from that last punch carved out a crater deep enough to bury a car in.

Holy fucking shit.

My shoulder still felt like it was trying to divorce the rest of my arm, but who cared? For once in my life, hitting things was actually useful.

A metallic screech cut through my celebration. Then another. And another.

I blinked hard, trying to clear my blurring vision. Dark shapes circled through the ruins around me and Jiko. Four? No, maybe six? Everything kept doubling and swimming in front of my eyes.

Blood dripped steadily from my shoulder, forming a small puddle at my feet. Probably not great, but whatever. I had bigger problems.

The Rust stalked closer.

"What's wrong?" I spat blood and raised my fists. The white energy flared brighter, like it was responding to my challenge. "You all buddies with that dipshit I just killed?"

They answered with a chorus of screeches. Then they lunged.

I barely dodged the first one, my legs threatening to give out. But my fists? They were working just fine. White energy blazed as I caught the nearest wolf right in its ugly face.

The yellow bar flickered into view again, now filled almost a quarter full.

Again? What the hell is-

A snarl ripped through the air. Another wolf launched itself at my face, jaws wide. I pivoted, throwing my weight into a punch just like before. But my legs had other ideas. They buckled, sending me sprawling face first into the dirt. The impact jarred my injured shoulder, making black spots dance across my vision.

Get up get up get up-

Hot breath washed over the back of my neck. I rolled onto my back, coming face to face with void eyes and row of teeth. The wolf's jaw was wide enough to take my head clean off.

That's when something brown and massive burst through its chest. The Rust's screech cut off in a wet gurgle as what looked like a giant tree root lifted it into the air.

Then more screeches filled the air. The other wolves thrashed and howled as roots erupted from the ground beneath them, impaling their bodies.

My head spun. Blood loss or just pure shock, I couldn't tell anymore. The ground seemed to tilt and sway beneath me. As my cheek hit dirt, I caught glimpse of someone walking toward me. Simple cloth shoes, the kind farmers wore in the fields.

"Fool."

The voice was female, cold with disappointment. The last thing I saw before darkness took me was Ten's clouded eyes staring down at me.