Chapter 33: Lies and Deception

“No… He can’t!!!” Umare was about to charge in but Master Toshiko grabbed his arm. “Do you feel his output?! At this rate, he'll kill himself!”

All three could sense the sudden spike in Meisatsu’s overall power—he was emptying his… Reserves.

A person's magic and life essence were intertwined, so pushing beyond one’s threshold could be fatal. This is the phenomenon known as Reserves

A portion of a person’s magic is always sealed like a backup, meant to sustain them if their main supply falls dangerously low.

Why was his power rising…?

“Umare, you can’t go jumping in like that!” Mater Toshiko scolded. “But... To think a law based off a prophesy would actually be useful...”

“I know, right?!” Saki watched eagerly as the two hero the two Heroes engaged each other.

“Sledge Hammer: Extend!” Ethan shouted, swinging his hammer across the gap separating them.

“MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER!!!”

CLANK!

Meisatsu swatted the chunk of metal away with the Glock in left hand. Despite his right hand being dominant, he was surprisingly skilled with his left.

Meisatsu grinned hysterically. “VELOCITY SHIFT!!!”

BOOM!

He closed the distance in a streak of black—

“GUN MARTIAL ARTS: GLOCK UPPERCUT!!!”

The attack connected, sending Ethan tumbling over backwards—somersaulting—kicking up dirt and dust everywhere.

“Reactive Hammer!!!” A faint hum resonated from the head of Ethan's weapon, which he now gripped tighter, bracing to fend off any follow-up attacks.

With each passing moment, both their faces twisted into increasingly depraved expressions.

“Come and get me, fraud!”

Meisatsu’s eyes now continually flared a bright crimson, and his brow furrowed over them. 

“VELOCTY SHIFT!”

TING!

Ethan's hammer moved, like it had a mind of its own, blocking the strike.

A depraved smile spread wider across Meisatsu’s face as he twisted his body, swinging his broken arm at Ethan—

SMACK!

Ethan recoiled from the slap, stumbling backward. Meisatsu calmly aimed at his legs.

BANG! BANG!

The two shots were blocked by the hammer that once again acted under its own power.

“You wretched human! You’re Level 3, and I’m Level 5. Are you too stupid to realize that?” Recovering his balance, Ethan glared maliciously at him.

With a manic grin, Meisatsu found himself shouting the words, “HIGHER CALIBER!!!”

A bright red aura pulsed around him, raging like flames. “Heck yeah!!!! This feels awesome!!!”

Meisatsu’s knees coiled beneath him—

“VELOCITY SHIFT!!!”

BOOM!!!

Ethan skidded backward over ten feet, his shoes digging into the dirt and fingers trembling on the hammer’s handle. They stung as he emerged from the dust cloud where Meisatsu’s strike had landed.

He blocked, and yet, Meisatsu’s strike this time felt faster—harder even—like he had had just gone up a level. “You think raising your Level by one would help?!!”

Through the dust, a pair of red eyes glared at him, and Meisatsu's manic voice rang out. “Could you come at me like you really mean it this time?!”

“Why you?!” Enraged, Ethan readied his next attack. 

“Sledge Hammer: Extend!!!”

The hammer darted towards Meisatsu, who simply smiled…

THUD!

The hit landed, but…

“Is that all you’ve got?” Meisatsu taunted sarcastically as the hammer now wedged against his chest.

He then strained, shouting, “MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER!!!”

Meisatsu quickly locked the sledge hammer under his functioning arm—he started spinning.

Umare’s jaw hung wide. Master Toshiko chuckled. And Saki let out a giggle.

Ethan screamed, clinging to the handle that Meisatsu twirled in a huge circle, leaving him dangling helplessly at the end.

Meisatsu let go, and sent him rolling across the ground a good distance away.

He sauntered over to were Ethan had landed.

“How dare you mock me!!!” Suddenly Ethan sprang to his feet, the hammer in his hand morphing once more. “Jack Hammer!!!”

As the name implied, it did in fact turn into one.

Meisatsu tilted his head in curiousity. “Huh?”

“These skills were bestowed upon me by the Great One! He is perfect, flawless—a true definition of the word, 'God'."

Painted in black at the side of the jack hammer was the same demonic-looking symbol from earlier.

Ethan sprung high into the air, his weapon rumbling with power. He descended, angling it at Meisatsu—

“VELOCITY SHIFT!!!”

The jack hammer crashed into the ground Meisatsu stood upon earlier, scattering debris all over and gouging a deep hole.

A hand clawed out of the gaping cavity, followed by a body. Ethan’s breathing was ragged. “I’ll kill you—”

Meisatsu moved so fast he seemed to warp right in front of Ethan.

With his left arm cocked all the way back, Meisatsu shouted, “MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER!!!”

BANG!

A hole now graced Ethan's right shoulder. Meisatsu had fired as he punched, the two impacts combined and doubled the damage. Blood spurted from the open wound.

A guttural scream tore from Ethan. “GYAAAAAAAH!!!”

“There! Now we’re even.” Meisatsu laughed, stepping back to take one last, cold look at his foe.

“Such insolence!!!” Ethan screamed, ignoring the wound on his shoulder.

They both raised their weapons, each ready to attack the other at the slightest movement.

“First, I’ll kill you here. Then, I’ll drag your worthless corpse back to the Great One!!!” The grin on Ethan's face curled into into vehement spirals on either side of his lips.

“Funny... I was about to say the same thing...except for the Great One bit.”

BWOOSH!

Flickering across the battle field, plums of dust erupted spontaneously from the ground.

CLANK! CLANK!! CLANK!!!

The clash of their weapons rang out, sharp and relentless, growing louder, more ferocious—every attack coming more vehemently than the last.

“Diiiiiiiieeeeee!” came the scream from Ethan, throwing all his strength into a final thrust of his jack hammer—piercing through the air—

BANG!

The gunshot echoed. Everywhere was quiet. Everything was still.

At Meisatsu’s feet lay a head that could have warranted mosaic censorship. A completely decimated cranium.

For his final strike, Meisatsu had stacked VELOCITY SHIFT, MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER, and HIGHER CALIBER—for a single, devastating blow.

He had just killed a person—and he felt nothing!

“Weren’t you gonna drag me to your Great One or whatever?!”

Meisatsu laughed, stopped, Then laughed some more—

He stumbled over, falling on his rear as the dead body twitched—

It began to change

Reddish skin. A long, winding tail. Black, five inch claws on each finger…

“Waaaaaah!” Meisatsu shrieked, scooching away from the corpse. “D-did I do that?!!”

His eyes dimmed to their original black.

Meisatsu was back.

Suddenly—

"Ethan has failed?!! That cannot be?” The hermit roared, materializing in a puff of black smoke, looming over Meisatsu. “DIIIIIEEEEE—!“

SHLICK!

The blade of a rapier's blade now protruded at front of his chest.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Up. Down Diagonal. Silver trails cut across his entire body, till the blade returned to its original point. It slowly withdrew…

SQUELCH!

The finely diced pieces of flesh and bone collapsed under the hermits robe, revealing the female Knight—Saki—standing tall—the sun beaming behind her.

She flicked the blood of her sword, splattering it next to Meisatsu, who barely noticed—struck dumb by her radiance…

She squatted next to the now defeated Ethan, murmuring, “True Deception Magic…?”

Meisatsu didn’t know what to make out of that True? Deception? I don’t think those two go together…

“This kid...” Umare strode quickly toward Meisatsu. “Ya actually did it!!!”

He picked the boy up by the shoulders, shaking him. “I dunno by what miracle, but ya actually did it!!!”

“Yeah, how’s he even alive?” Saki asked, poking the corpse she'd been examining.

“Stop!!!” Master Toshiko ordered, fading into view next to Umare. “He’s unconscious…”

“Eh?!!”Umare spun back to Meisatsu, then muttered, “Oh…”

Eyes glazed, foaming at the mouth.

Meisatsu was out cold.