A Revalation

The Christmas show was flashy enough, with its spectacular feats of colored lights and special effects, but I felt distracted through the entirety of it, and I could never focus on the show itself. Instead, I kept unconsciously looking over to Martha at my side, who was enjoying the show with the others the same way she normally would.

What was that? Was I just imagining things? I screwed up my face as the crowd cheered, an explosion of color lighting up the night sky. And if it really did happen… why?

Questions like these kept swirling around in my head, making it throb with an incessant ache. And that feeling never went away, even when the colors and music of the show faded, and I was left sitting in the back of the dark bus. Pressing my burning forehead up against the cool glass of the window, it found it hard for me to gather my thoughts.

“Hey, you feeling okay?” Chris had asked me once we returned to our hotel room. “You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet ever since the show. You get food poisoning or something?”

“No, it’s not that.” I shook my head, making my way over to the other side of the room. “I just… need some time to sit down.”

Prying open the small door on the end of the room, I stepped back outside into the chilly air of the balcony. As I sat down on the outdoor chair the bitter wind stung at my cheeks, but I didn’t care. My plan was to continue sitting there until I felt better and could think straight, but I was interrupted by the small door opening once again. Connor emerged from within the room, and took a seat on the chair next to me.

“Did Chris send you?” I asked, without looking away from the shadowy horizon.

“Nope. Just wanted to check on you myself,” Connor said, zipping up his coat to protect against the wind. “You’ve been acting strangely, and I want to know why. Did something happen while I was gone?”

“To be honest, even I’m not sure if something happened or not,” I answered dejectedly. “I’m feeling a little better now, though. The wind is helping me think a little more clearly.”

“Hey, whatever works for you.” Connor pushed himself up from the seat, and walked over to the balcony rails, leaning on it. “And if we’re being sincere now, I guess I should do the same. As a matter of fact, I’d wanted to talk to you even before you started acting up.”

I sat up in my chair. “Why is that?”

“It’s actually about Jasmine,” Connor said, his arms hanging off the side of the railing. “I know I can trust Chris not to, for a number of reasons. But, I was… afraid you’d try to make a move on her.”

“Me? On Jasmine?” Despite myself, I gave a little laugh. “What, you like her or something?”

“As if that wasn’t clear to anyone. I’m thinking of inviting her to the Oasis’ Christmas dance, too.” Connor flicked a pebble off the railing. “Nah, what am I saying? I’d never be able to work up the courage to do something like that.”

“Well, you can rest assured, because she’s not really my type,” I said, joining Connor at the edge of the balcony. “She’s a bit too cold and cynical for my tastes. No, scratch that. She’s way too cold.”

“Hey, it might not seem like it, but she’s really not a bad person at heart,” Connor said, staring off into the distance. “I’m sure she was just being harsher to you in the beginning because she wanted to protect Martha, that’s all.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

“That girl is candid to a fault,” Connor sighed, closing his eyes. “Yet, it’s still the part of her that I fell in love with.”

I didn’t have a proper answer to that comment, so we continued staring out in the wind until he spoke up again.

“You just said that Jasmine wasn’t your type, so now I’m curious.” He said, drumming against the hollow metal rail. “What is your type, then?”

I looked at him, confused. “Hm? Uh, I’ve never really thought about it before.”

“Then, is it someone like Martha?” Connor smirked at me from the side.

For some reason, my heart rate increased a little as I heard those words. Forcing it back down, I attempted to consolidate a proper answer. “Well, Martha’s done so much for me that I’ve never really considered her in that light.” I rubbed my head. “I feel like thinking of her in that way would be somewhat disrespectful to her.”

“Then, what’s your honest impression of Martha?”

“My impression of her?” Scratching my chin, I considered this. “From a purely objective standpoint, I’d describe her as a pleasant, energetic young girl, with a tendency to act childish and stubborn at times. Though, I guess those tendencies can be… charming, in a way.”

“And you still don’t admit that you like her? What a load of bull.” Connor chuckled quietly to himself. “Why don’t you just drop your pride and get together with her? Even I can tell that she’s been a lot happier ever since you came along.”

As he said that, the image of Martha’s agonized face flashed into my mind, and I recoiled a bit at the memory.

“I… don’t think our relationship is as simple as that. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s still something between me and Martha.” I gave a deep exhale. “Anyway, I’m not sure she even feels that way about me.”

“Well, from what I’ve seen, your feelings are mutual,” Connor said with a smile. “That girl has been all by herself for as long as I’ve known her, and that’s got to be lonely. I think if you were by her side, everything would improve, if only by a little at first.”

I clenched my fist. There were so many things that I just didn’t understand, and Martha’s feelings stood at the top of it all. I wasn’t really lying when I told Connor that I never considered her as a romantic partner, but I always thought that we both at least enjoyed the relationship we shared. Living together, working together, making little jabs at one another. Weren’t we both happy like that?

But if that were the case, then why… I tightened my grip on the railing with my other hand. Why did she look so pained, sitting next to me?

That wasn’t the only thing in the way of Connor’s ‘perfect’ vision, though. If I really pursued a relationship with Martha, we would no doubt cultivate more intimate feelings. And when I left to return to my old world, abruptly cutting that relationship short, I knew that would hurt her more than anything.

But, if we had met each other normally, if there weren’t all these ridiculous things in between us… I looked straight ahead. If we were both just normal, everyday people concerned with normal everyday occurrences, then just maybe…

“So, what do you say?” Straightening up, Connor looked at me. “It can’t be that hard to confess to the person you like.”

“I never said that I had feelings for her. You drew those conclusions all on your own,” I retaliated. “And, according to that logic, why aren’t you already with Jasmine?”

Connor’s face tinged with red, and he looked away. “Shut up.”

The sound of the evening wind drowned out everything else, and there was a slight pause before I spoke again.

“Connor…” I took a deep, calming breath, before looking back to him. “I may have come off a little callous, but thanks for this. I mean it.”

“No problem.” He grinned patting me on the back. “It’s pretty fun, having a talk like this. Maybe next time we can invite Chris.”

“Next time?”

“Ah, you know you enjoyed it.” Making his way back to the little door, Connor pointed inside. “You want to go back in?”

A quick gust of wind blew against me, and I shuddered. “Yes, please.”

Was it always this cold?

###

The morning of the following day, we all went together to the workshop in order to look for the parts I needed. The mechanic, Betty, turned out to be a red-haired woman with powerful arms. Through her careful instruction, Martha and I were able to pick out the pieces that would fit our purpose best. Even as we worked together to find the materials, though, I still couldn’t really bring myself to look Martha in the eye.

“You’ve been acting a little weird since yesterday,” she said, sliding a long pole into the sack we were using to fit our materials. “Everything okay?”

She’s going to act like it never happened? Of course, it would be nice to just go back to our normal relationship, but… I’m not sure I can do that so easily after what I saw. Giving a little nod as a response, I returned to halfheartedly packing materials into the sack. Worrying over some human girl isn’t going to get me any closer to getting back home, I know that. But, even so… for some strange reason, it doesn’t feel right to just let it go.

I glanced down at her as she knelt there, humming to some foreign tune. What would be the right thing to do right now? Is there even an answer to that question?

“Woah, that seems pretty heavy.” Oblivious to my scrutiny, Martha gazed over at Chris. He had walked over to us, and was currently somewhat struggling to lift the burlap sack that was wrapped around our materials. “You need any help with that?”

“No, I’m good.” With a grunt, Chris heaved the sack over his shoulder. “Carry things heavier than this on a daily basis.”

“You’re gonna have to carry that all the way back though, muscle-man,” Connor said, attempting to lift up the end dangling off Chris’ shoulder before giving up almost instantly. “Don’t go calling me to help you later, deal?”

“Don’t worry, I got this.” His voice was still a little strained.

We took the bus straight from Betty’s workshop back to the train station. Chris seemed pretty relieved that he could toss the sack into the compartment under the bus, suggesting that it may have been taking a larger toll on his body than he let on. But he seemed to recover with the bus ride, and was more than ready to continue once we got off.

In the little underground mall area connected to the train station, we gathered our luggage together and waited together for our train to arrive. Martha went off to the bathroom, which lessened the pressure on me a little.

If she’s actively trying to avoid the subject, it probably means there’s more to the truth than what can be observed on the surface. For now, it might actually be best just to go along with her and shelve the memory until a better time, I thought, absentmindedly eyeing Martha’s luggage. But… I should probably give one last try before that.

“Hey, Jasmine,” I walked over to where she was standing. “Can I talk to you, real quick?”

“What do you want?” Jasmine looked up from her phone with a bothered look. “Just tell me.”

“I’d prefer it be in private.”

“Private? For what reason?” She raised an eyebrow, and behind her, I saw Connor also look up with a suspicious expression.

“Don’t worry, it’s not anything weird,” I quickly said, not just in order to assuage her, but Connor as well. After a moment, he gave a nod of acknowledgement, before returning to his phone.

Jasmine clicked her tongue. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”

We found a spot next to one of those human currency dispensing machines, a safe distance away from the others. Even after what I said, I could still see Connor subconsciously sneak glances in our direction. That was fine, though. He wouldn’t be able to hear us from this distance.

“So?” She folded her arms. “What is it?”

“It’s actually about Martha.” Glancing down, I awkwardly tried shifting my body weight from one foot to the other. “Has she ever acted a bit… differently? In front of you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jasmine frowned. “Martha has always behaved in the exact same way, whether you mean on this trip or at work. She hasn’t changed since the first time I met her.”

“No, well, maybe that was the wrong way to phrase it…” I just couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position to stand in. “Has it ever seemed like she might be hiding something?”

“Hey, I think you’re starting to cross a line here.” As she spoke, Jasmine’s voice began to get harder. “Besides, you’re the one who’s obviously hiding something from all of us. How are you in any position to ask me this?”

“It’s… different in my case.”

“So, you admit it, then?” Jasmine stepped forward aggressively, as if she was just starting to let loose a number of things that had been weighing in on her mind. “Why would things be any different for you? Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but the only instance I can recall of Martha acting out of character is when she brought you into the Oasis out of nowhere!”

I scowled. “Look, this isn’t about –”

A spiral of flames swirled up in front of me, which made me stop mid-sentence, as Kin’s snout emerged from the fireball. “Don!”

This isn’t the time, Kin! I grit my teeth, looking from him back to Jasmine.

“Actually, now that I think about it, everything involving the two of you seemed strange to me from the beginning,” she said, jabbing a finger at me. “If she really is hiding anything, I’m sure it’s something to do with you, so don’t ask me for advice. Whatever it is, it should be something you already know.”

“No, I promise it’s something else!” I turned forcefully. “What she –”

“Conqaide! Stop talking to her and listen to me!” Kin called out, darting in front of me.

“Why’d you stop?” Jasmine growled. “Speak up! Don’t leave sentences half finished.”

I tried to bat away Kin’s body without Jasmine noticing, but I only noticed the desperation in his eyes at the last moment.

“You idiot! I’m trying to tell you there’s a –”

There was a colossal burst of noise, and a large pane of glass shattered in the distance. Then, the initial crash was followed by several loud bangs.

Jasmine’s advance halted, and she stepped back slowly. I could see the fear streaking in her eyes. “Was that… a gunshot?”

“I was trying to say that there’s someone attacking this place!” Kin finally shouted.

What? Did the bounty hunters already discover – My train of thought was interrupted by another series of earsplitting bangs.

“A-Are they shooting at us? Are we going to die?” Appearing to fall into a sudden delirious panic, Jasmine pressed her back against the wall, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. “Don, I don’t want to die!”

Taken aback by her unexpectedly frightened reaction, I was suddenly reminded of a reality that I had almost forgotten: Jasmine, Connor and Chris were all regular people who had never known any real threats to their lives. I was able to keep a relatively level head due to my constant exposure to danger, but as I looked over to see Jasmine taking scattered breaths, I realized that she was probably scared out of her mind.

“Calm down! You’re… going to be fine.” Placing a hand on her shoulder to reassure her, I hastily peeked my head out. From that vantage point, I could see plumes of billowing dust and pieces of scattered rubble a distance away from us, down one of the halls. Retracting my head, I faced Jasmine again, feeling my heart pounding. “We have to get back to the others. Chris and Connor should still be waiting in the same place as before, while Martha went to the bath –”

My sentence broke off, as my breathing stalled. Martha!

“Jasmine, find the others and hide! I’ll bring Martha back!” I didn’t need any time to think, as my body moved on its own. Breaking away from Jasmine, I immediately dashed past the small corridor we were standing in and out into the main hall of the underground plaza.

“Don, wait!” Jasmine futilely tried to reach out to me, but I was already too far away, her words barely audible over the rushing of blood in my ears.

My shoes crunching over rubble and little shards of glass, I kept on running, without looking back. There were no signs of the perpetrators yet, but the dust and smoke from the attack had spread out to fill the air, clouding my sight. The tiny particles made my eyes water and my lungs burn, and yet I forced myself forwards, coughing intensely. As I blinked the tears out of my eyes, I could see the tiny sign of the women’s bathroom lighting up like a beacon through the dust. Without hesitation, I burst inside.

Standing in front of the sink to wash her hands, Martha’s face reddened as I burst into sight. “Don? What do you think you’re –”

“Doesn’t matter! There’s been an attack!” I grabbed her wrist, and made for the exit. Her hands were still wet, and they left tiny droplets of water on the floor as I pulled her away.

“What did you just say? An attack?” I felt her arm tense up, and I saw that her eyes had widened in fear.

“I don’t know who they are, but we’ve got to meet back with the others.” Slipping off my scarf with my left hand, I wrapped it around Martha’s mouth. With her wrist clutched in my hand, I guided her back through the smoke and grime that I had already passed.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a dark figure appeared amidst the haze. Breathing hard, I yanked Martha back behind the large pot of some indoor tree. As we crouched down, I saw the figure pass by, but it was followed by another, and then another.

“How many of them are there?” I breathed, but was silenced by a quick shush from Martha’s direction. To my surprise, her eyes were still filled with terror even as she gave me the command, and the finger pressed against her lips was trembling slightly. She was probably just as frightened as Jasmine, but knew she had to stay as calm as possible.

As two or three more of the figures moved on without noticing us, the moment their backs were turned, we broke out from behind the shelter of the porcelain vase and began bolting back to where I had last seen the others. We found them huddled together in the corridor where I had left Jasmine, their luggage scattered across the floor. Chris was standing protectively in front of the other two, and his eyes lit up as he noticed us.

“Martha! Don!” He swept us into the corridor with a single arm, but his voice trailed off. “Your faces…”

Tracing my cheek with my thumb, I pulled it away and found it covered in a layer of dust, before shaking my head. “That’s not important right now. How are the others?”

Jasmine was clinging on tightly to one of Connor’s arms, and he looked just as pale as her. As he took a look at Martha, I heard him swallow. “You’re both covered in dust… there really has been an attack? F-For real?”

“Martha! You’re okay!” Jasmine grabbed ahold of Martha’s arm. “Oh, what are we going to do?”

Chris was staring outside anxiously, his hand gripping hard against the corner. “It doesn’t look like they know we’re here yet. Maybe we could slip out, if we’re quick enough.”

“That won’t work,” Kin whispered over to me, drifting back into the corridor. “There’s maybe six of them in total, and they’re all facing this way.”

“That won’t work, they’re all facing in this direction,” I said, repeating the sentence louder so that the others could hear.

“Damn it,” Connor growled, slumping down to the ground. “Maybe we could just wait it out?”

“It doesn’t look like that’s an option,” Chris shook his head, sweat rolling down the back of his neck. “They’re all walking this way. They’ll reach us in a few minutes.”

“Damn…” Connor whimpered again, as he buried his face in his knees. Beside him, Martha was doing her best to comfort Jasmine, and I saw that Chris had unfurled the heavy burlap roll. Pulling out anything that could be useful, he clasped a long metal pole between both hands like some kind of makeshift weapon.

I could probably try to open a portal for escape, but that would mean revealing my magic to everyone here. Isn’t there any other option? Anything… I scrunched my eyes shut, but then they snapped open. No, wait, what the hell am I even thinking? All their lives are at risk here! This isn’t a time for such selfish thoughts!

Sucking in a deep breath, I held out my arms in front of me and spoke. “O High Powers, grant me your strength!”

“What are you doing? This is no time for messing around!” Jasmine yelled.

Martha stared at me, aghast. “Don, are you really…”

I nodded wordlessly, and continued my chanting. “Allow me to channel this energy, and merge this world and the void into one!”

Picturing the cramped little backyard of the Oasis in my mind, I finished the chant. “Come forth! Chasm’s Conduit!”

Right in the middle of the darkened corridor, the air seemed to tear itself apart, forming a gaping black-purple gash that spread all the way down to the floor. A scream issued from Jasmine’s mouth, but Martha clamped down on it with her hand just in time. The other two just stared at me, before Chris made a feeble attempt at speaking.

“Don, what…”

“I don’t have time to explain right now! Just, trust me!” I pointed towards the gash, feeling its ominous presence all the way from where I stood. “You’ll be safe!”

There was a while when nobody moved at all. Then, Connor seemed to gather his resolve, and he stood up shakily. “I have no idea what the hell is even going on, but…”

Jasmine instantly gripped onto his arm. “Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking of walking into that thing!”

“Jasmine! Don is not a bad person, I know that. And even though I’m really damn scared and confused right now, I’m… willing to trust him.” Brushing off Jasmine’s hand, he stepped right in front of the gash, before glancing back. “Are you coming with me or not?”

Jasmine grew silent, and her head faced down for a few seconds. Then, she seemingly forced herself to get up. “F-Fine.” She let out a long breath of air, steadying her voice. “I trust you, Connor. And if this is your decision, then… I won’t question it.”

She walked over to Connor’s side, and held on to his hand tightly. Connor steeled himself, squeezed his eyes shut, and charged headfirst into the pulsing gash, dragging Jasmine in with him. As she disappeared, Chris seemed to let out a sigh of relief. As he walked over to the gash, he rested a large hand on my shoulder.

“Thank you, Don.” He looked over his shoulder, and gave me a weak smile. “But… you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

And, with that, he too vanished into the depths of the portal. As he did so, the portal let out a shuddering groan, and began to shrink. The edge of the shadowy gash started to creep up from the ground, and the portal was getting smaller and smaller.

“Come on, you too. We don’t have any time to waste,” I said, looking to over Martha. But as I started heading for the gash, I felt an obstinate tug on my sleeve. “What’s wrong? We have to move quickly.”

“Don, I know we can just escape back to the Oasis without putting ourselves in danger,” she said, and pointed back behind her. “But… there are other people here. It’s not just us.”

“What do you mean?” I turned. “Are you saying that I should actually try and stop the assaulters?”

“I bet they’re all scared, the other people in hiding. They’re people who don’t just have the luxury of opening up a portal and leaving,” Martha spoke pleadingly. “If we have the ability to help them, why shouldn’t we?”

“… Alright. I understand that. But, you still need to get to safety.” As the dark gash throbbed midair, I jabbed a thumb back at it. “That thing’s going to close any second now.”

“In times like these, you’re always the one putting yourself into danger…” Martha said quietly, clenching her left hand into a fist. “I don’t like hurting people, and my work energy is still weak, but… isn’t there anything I can do to help?”

“What are you talking about?” I tugged on her arm. “Come on, you need to go! Didn’t you hear me? The portal is about to close!”

“Isn’t there any way I can help you at all?” Martha cried with surprising assertiveness.

“I just don’t want to put you into danger!” I responded, waved my arm in exasperation. “I promised I wouldn’t let you get hurt, but that doesn’t apply if you’re the one putting yourself into danger!”

“Wait, guys,” Kin suddenly spoke up. “Hold on just a second.”

“What is it? And, anyway, shouldn’t you be getting in the portal as well?” I said, wiping the sweat from my brow. “I know you’re a spirit, but it’s still going to take you a while to get back otherwise.”

“No, I feel like I have a solution to both of your problems, as well as mine.” He pointed a clawed finger at Martha. “You’re saying that you really want to give support to your friend Don here?”

“Anything I can do to help,” she nodded.

“Then,” Kin grinned at me. “you’re probably going to object to this, but why don’t I possess Martha here?”

“What?”

“Look at it this way.” He bobbed over to the space in the middle of us. “Right now, I don’t have nearly enough energy to muster up a physical form I can use to fight with. And Martha wants to help, right? If I use her as a vessel, I’ll be able to fight at full strength, and she’ll be able to help like she wants to.”

“That sounds like a stupid idea,” I said bluntly, before another gunshot rang out, jolting me back to my senses. “This isn’t a game we’re talking about!”

“Wait, Don. I’m a grown woman, and I don’t need your permission to do everything.” Martha looked up at Kin. “You said you wanted my body as a vessel? Fine then, I accept.”

I glanced at her, slightly concerned. “But, this is your actual body we’re talking about. Are you sure that –”

“I’m certain.” A pair of determined eyes pierced through me.

“Man, you really are stubborn.” I dropped my arms, and scowled at Kin. “You better not let her body get damaged. I won’t forgive that.”

“What are you, some kind of doting father?” Kin gave a dry laugh, floating over to Martha’s head. “Well, then. Brace yourself, Martha.”

At her nod, Kin’s body churned into a spiral of red gas, and swirled into Martha’s mouth. Immediately, her knees buckled, and I rushed to catch her as she fell.

“Ah, my prince in shining armor.” Martha cracked a wry smile at me, rubbing her head. As I looked closer, I realized her irises had turned a fiery orange. “Hot damn, it feels good to have so much energy again.”

I helped her up to her feet, before scrutinizing her. “Kin? Is that you?”

“Who else?” He spoke in Martha’s voice, stretching. “Ooh. These are some nice joints.”

“Hearing Martha talk like this gives me the creeps.”

“Better get used to it. Oh, and before you complain,” he said, straightening. “The vessel only feels pain if the possession is involuntary. Your friend here’ll just wake up without remembering a thing.”

“Noted. Did you get a glimpse of who those people were when scouting?” I asked, approaching the corner and trying to get a glimpse outside.

“Yeah.” Kin nodded. “Six men total, and they split into two groups of three down the left and right of the central plaza. They’re carrying weird guns and other strange equipment, so it looks like they’re actually from this world. Terrorists or robbers, can’t tell.”

Wait, they’re not bounty hunters? Is their appearance just a coincidence, then? If that’s so, I really do have the crappiest luck. With a sigh, I looked over to Kin. “Well, I know this goes against what I said before, but thanks for this.”

“What are you thanking me for again?”

“Well, you’re a spirit, so you can’t be hurt by anything non-magical,” I gestured. “You didn’t even have to stay here, or warn me about the attack. So, thanks for doing this just to make Martha feel better. You’re not all that bad of a guy.”

“Well, it was also in part because I wanted to beat some people up again,” Kin laughed rather bashfully, rubbing his head.

“Please don’t blush in Martha’s body.”

“I’ll do whatever I want,” he said, cracking his knuckles. “These guys are going to get here soon. We gonna take ‘em out or what?”

I used one Tier 3 spell to send the others back, so I only have half of my magic points remaining. Attempting to take a breath and calm down, I found doing that was near impossible in my current state. Don’t think I can focus enough to activate work energy right now.

“I’ll take the ones on the left,” I said, trying to formulate a rudimentary attack plan. “They’re farther, and I have magic to protect me from long-distance attacks.”

“Roger that.” Kin opened his palm and summoned a small ball of flame, which his extinguished by closing his hand.

“While you’re at it, try not to kill any of them. Oh, and also, remember to be careful out there,” I warned.

“Not to worry. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just eject out of the vessel. I’m in no real danger.”

“I wasn’t talking about you, idiot fox. You’re possessing Martha’s body, after all.” Glowering at him, I heaved the rest of the luggage on the floor through the shrinking gash, just managing to slide the burlap sack of materials through before the shadowy tear sealed itself back up. “Make sure you don’t get hit by any stray attacks. In this case, the vessel matters more than the host.”

“Right, right. Protect the body,” Kin said, patting the dust off his pants and stripping off Martha’s thick white sweater.

Looking out the corner, I waited until the three figures closest to us turned away slightly. As they walked into a nearby store to look for any hiding people, I pushed off the ground and ran straight ahead, down the left hall of the plaza. Pressing myself against a rectangular pillar, I inspected the hall.

Two of them have turned into separate corridors. Looks like they’re fanning out to cover more ground. I peered past the other end of the pillar, and saw one man standing out in the open, armed with a large weapon I assumed was a gun. A light-producing device was strapped to the end of the gun, most likely some sort of torch. It helped to light up the darkness of the hall a little, since the previous few explosions had caused some of the lights to flicker out. He’s alone, so it doesn’t look like they’re expecting anyone to fight back. I can probably take him out without the other two noticing.

The moment his back was turned, I leapt out from behind the pillar without hesitation. As I closed the distance between us, he snapped his head over to me quickly, and his eyes widened in surprise. Since he was a large man carrying a large weapon, he probably wasn’t expecting anyone to suddenly pop out of nowhere, much less barehanded. Before he even had a chance to properly react, my arm shot forward with a blur, crushing the man’s windpipe in one fluid motion. Letting out a weak, watery gargle, the man stumbled back and dropped his unwieldly weapon, which landed with a clatter onto the marble floor.

He seems to have some form of protective armor or vest, but nothing protecting his head. As the man continued to stagger, I feinted with my left hand, which he attempted to block in desperation. Immediately, I shifted to the right, and slammed the heel of my hand with as much force as I could muster into the area just below the man’s chin. Without the chance to even let out a cry, he dropped to the ground like a bag of bricks.

What terrible fighting form. It’s like you’ve never even trained in close range combat. I calmly walked over to the unconscious body, gazing at it with a sense of mild aversion. If you’re going to commit criminal acts, at least put in the effort to do it properly.

This is probably the device he uses to communicate with his partners. I pulled some small rectangular device off his belt, tossing it onto the ground and crushing it with my heel. That takes care of that. One down, without even using magic.

The other two seemed to have split off at the intersection at the end of the hall. Looking more closely, there was only one store at the far end of the left section, but some of the merchandise at the entrance was knocked over. There’s one over there for sure.

Quickly looking to the right and seeing nothing, I darted towards the small convenience store on the left. The lights were still on there, illuminating the snacks and beauty products littering the floor. As I looked down one of the aisles, I saw a small family of three, kneeling together in front of the second man. Dressed similarly to the first, this man carried a smaller handheld gun, and was using it to threaten the people in front of him. The woman crouching down covered the heads of her two children protectively, as another woman behind the counter was loading the human currency into a bag.

As I came around the other side of the aisles, I managed to walk all the way up to the man’s back without him noticing. These Earth criminals really work so sloppily. I guess that’s what happens when you rely too much on your advanced technology. Giving him two quick taps on the shoulder, the man startled and whipped around, pointing the gun at me. I raised my right arm and caught it without much effort, my fingers wrapped around the muzzle.

“Decay.”

The blackness began from where my fingers touched the gun and spread to the other regions of the weapon, rusting and corroding through the metal. The man squeezed the trigger, but the weapon only managed to produce a few little clicking noises, as it had already basically been reduced to a hunk of worthless scrap. Tossing the lump of twisted metal onto the ground, I shifted my weight forward, and with my elbow at an angle, struck his Adam’s apple with a forceful jab.

The man clattered onto the glass counter, before sliding uselessly onto the ground. As the four spectators gaped at me speechlessly, I nodded curtly in response. “Tie him up for me, will you? There’s another one outside, after you take a right.”

Without staying to hear a response from them, I took off down the hall in search of the third and final attacker. But as I looked inside of the shops lining the right side of the corridor, there were all empty, save for a few clusters of terrified civilians.

Did he notice the body in the hallway and try to regroup? I scowled, turning back down the hall. The man I had knocked out first was still out cold, but I noticed that the bulky weapon that he was carrying had been snatched off the ground. I’ll try to meet back up with Kin.

Returning to the large middle hallway where Kin and I had split off, I looked down the side that Kin had chosen to see him dragging a few unconscious bodies together into a pile.

“How badly did you hurt them?” I asked, examining the three men. Much of their clothes were blackened, and all of the weapons that Kin had piled together seemed to have holes melted into them. One of the larger guns was seemingly seared clean in half.

“Well, they’re not dead.” Kin shrugged, heaving the last man onto the pile. “Surprisingly weak, though. Wasn’t much fun.”

“You see another guy come past here?” I pointed down the hall. “I took out two of my guys, but the last one seems to have escaped.”

“You let one escape? Man, you’re inefficient,” Kin said, wiping the grime from his face. “No, I only saw –” His sentence cut off abruptly, and I saw his pupils dilate.

“Perpetual Shock!” Without even stopping to turn, I thrust my arm back, letting loose the attack. As I did so, a muted moan sounded from behind me. Turning around, I was met with the silhouette of a burly man, as the remaining tendrils of lighting flickered around the ground. He was still standing, and the gun he had taken off the floor was pointed directly at me, but he couldn’t seem to move. The man’s jaw was clenched tight and his index finger was wrapped around the trigger, and I realized that the shock had probably forced his muscles to lock in place, not allowing him to move or fall down.

“That was a close one,” Kin breathed, as I stalked over to where the man stood with his body fully paralyzed.

“Put that down, it’s dangerous.” I pushed the barrel of the gun down with my finger, and with a strong kick to the man’s stomach, knocked him down onto the ground.

“You sure like to taunt your opponents, don’t you?” Kin asked, crossing his arms.

“Sue me. I haven’t been able to do it a lot since I got here,” I responded with a wave of my arm.

The man glared at us with bloodshot eyes, frothing at the mouth a little. “What… a monster?”

“Isn’t it a little harsh to call someone a monster right off the bat?” I said, shaking my head. “If you’re going to call me names anyway, I’d prefer it be something that at least paints me in a nicer light.”

His fingers twitching, the man tried to spit out an answer, but all that emerged from his foamy lips was an incoherent hiss.

“Say, I’ve got an idea.” I knelt down next to the man’s head. “Do you believe in a religion, by any chance? Pray to any gods?”

“There are… no gods…” The man growled.

“Wrong again.” With a sigh, I straightened up my body, and drove my leg hard into the man’s chest.