Chương 19: What is it?

Kach stared at my chest. At the spot that tingled whenever I assimilated a card. She knew. I was sure of it. But how? Did j. m. k67 tell her? It was never mentioned in the story. So how did she know? And even if she did, what did it matter? I didn't have a single Skillcard that could help me fight. Unless. I summoned Skillmerge. The card floated between us, and through its translucent surface I saw Kach's distorted face.

"What's that?" Lania asked.

"What is it?"

"My superpower." A small smirk appeared on Kach's face. So that's what you wanted. I summoned my two copper Skillcards that had carried me through every fight so far. MMA and Lindy Hop.

"Skillmerge." The two brown cards drifted toward each other. At first, they resisted. They pushed against one another as if refusing to become one. Then they gave in. Kach's smirk widened.

"What the fuck is happening?" Lania shouted.

"Can someone tell me something? Anything? I hate this. I fucking hate this." Where had she learned those words? The two copper cards burst into light. They disappeared. In their place floated a single silver card. Please... Be something good. Something that can help me fight. Aerial Pivot Elinga fought warriors stronger, faster, and larger than himself. He realized strength meant little if one could never be where the enemy expected.

By turning every movement into the beginning of another, every dodge into another attack, he created a style that made the air itself his foothold. Recorded in the Akashic System in the year 446798. Aerial Pivot allows the wielder to create temporary footholds in compressed air. These footholds can be used to instantly change direction, accelerate, or launch attacks from impossible angles. I grinned. Kach grinned back. Lania was still demanding answers, but neither of us paid her any attention.

The cards dissolved into particles of light. They rushed into my chest, and the familiar tingling spread through me. Finally. A Skillcard that could help me fight.

"Lania, stay behind me and assist me wherever you can." I had only just gained Aerial Pivot. I didn't know its limits yet. Any help she could provide would be appreciated.

"I was fucking going to." She was still furious. I channeled Magika through my entire body, focusing on Aerial Pivot. My body was still freezing from Tundra's Water while lightning from Fulgur's Blood raced through my veins. Then my muscles tightened, my blood grew hot, and the clash between freezing muscles and burning veins became a little more bearable. I lunged. Not at Kach. To her side. My palm struck the air. A cushion formed beneath it. I pushed off it, shooting past her before bouncing again. Then again.

And again. Soon I was nothing more than a blur ricocheting around the room. Fulgur's Blood let me perceive the world at this speed. Kach probably could too. She hadn't moved an inch. She was still smiling. I dove from above. She raised a fist to intercept me. I slapped another cushion of compressed air in front of her punch, twisted around it, and drove my heel into her face. She hadn't expected that. I landed several metres away. Her grin had grown wider. She was enjoying herself now.

Without warning, she charged straight at me. So focused on me that she failed to notice Strange Toy rushing in from the side. It slammed into her. She flew through the air and crashed into a broken machine.

"Take that, you bitch!" I'm definitely giving Lania a lecture about her language after this. I didn't tell Lania to retreat with Pyiari. Kach wasn't interested in them. There was no fun in fighting them. Kach tore herself free from the twisted machinery. I didn't give her time to recover. I shot forward and drove my fist into her stomach, launching her back into the wreckage. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I kept going. Bounce. Kick. Bounce. Kick.

I repeated it until my legs screamed in protest. With the final kick she tore through the machine entirely before crashing into another one behind it.

"Is the bitch dead?" I deactivated Aerial Pivot and switched to Shadow Detect. Only one silver Skillcard could be active at a time. That was one of the Akashic System's fundamental rules unless someone possessed a skill capable of splitting their mind. The cold returned immediately. My awareness spread through my shadow, then into the shadows of the broken machinery beyond it. I found Kach. She hadn't moved. Her grin had somehow become even wider.

"No." I sensed her before I saw her. She was already moving. Even with Fulgur's Blood heightening my reflexes, I couldn't keep up with her speed. Was she still holding back? I barely raised my arms in time. The impact made them go numb as I skidded backwards. I immediately switched back to Aerial Pivot. This time Strange Toy attacked from above while I came from the front. Could she block both of us? No. She sidestepped. I struck the air, changed direction instantly, and crashed into her from the side.

A heartbeat later, Strange Toy landed its own hit. For the first time... I could actually see myself winning. Just a little more. Just a little longer. Ignore the tearing muscles. Ignore the cracking bones. Push a little further. I could win this with my own strength. Kach bounced off the floor like a ball. I didn't know a person could do that. I sprinted after her while Strange Toy descended beside me, its remaining spinning blade aimed straight for her. Everything collapsed from there.

The solid black sludge coating her body came alive. It swirled violently from one end of her body to the other. Still in midair, she twisted with impossible speed. No footing. No external force. She simply... spun. Her fist met Strange Toy's spinning blade. The blade shattered. So did the arm holding it. She twisted again. This time, she faced me. I saw her grin. It stretched from ear to ear. Her eyes squeezed shut with excitement, exposing rows of sharp, zigzag teeth.

The black sludge swirled across her face like living ink. She looked like a monster. Before I could create an air cushion and change direction, her fist slammed into the back of my head. I kissed the floor. Shit. I celebrated too early. She hadn't even used her fucking superpower. She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me upright. Behind her, Strange Toy was already flying away, spinning helplessly through the air. She raised her free hand. The black sludge spiraled around it.

The instant she let go of my hair, she struck. I understood her superpower the moment the muscles in my stomach began twisting clockwise. Then my ribs. My spine. My entire body. Everything spun. I was launched backward as the whole world twisted around me. I would've kept spinning forever if I hadn't crashed into the machinery behind me. Blood flooded my mouth. I coughed. Then coughed again. It just wouldn't stop.

"Noooooooooooooooooo!!" Lania. Why was she screaming? I forced my blurry eyes open to check what had forced Lania to scream like that. Strange Toy wasn't merely damaged. It was gone. Its wooden horse body had exploded into splinters. Jiji. Moly. Doku. The three heads lay metres apart, separated from one another. Kach held one of its wooden arms. She slammed it into the floor. Again. Again. Again. Each strike broke it further. Each strike made Lania cry harder. Each strike made Kach smile wider.

When nothing remained but splinters, she looked at me. Her grin promised another round. Then it vanished. Her expression became blank once more. She wasn't looking at me anymore. She was looking for something. Then she disappeared. Fulgur's Blood had worn off. I couldn't follow her speed anymore. Tundra's Water had worn off too, leaving every muscle screaming in pain. My Magika was gone. I couldn't activate Aerial Pivot. I couldn't use Shadow Detect. I couldn't even track where she'd gone.

I searched frantically, ignoring the agony shooting through my neck. There. She was digging through the sack of medicines. What is she looking for?

"You bitch!" Lania charged, swinging her bony fists. Kach didn't even need to dodge. But she did. Lania's fingertips barely grazed her hand. They spun. Blood sprayed into the air. Lania screamed. Move. Come on. Fucking move. I coughed another mouthful of blood and forced my legs forward. Pyiari was still unconscious. Kach continued rummaging through the sack. Bottle after bottle shattered beneath her hands. Then she paused. She examined one bottle before setting it aside. Golden Hearth Nectar. Don't tell me...

That fucking psycho. More bottles broke. She set another aside. Tundra's Water. More shattered glass. Another bottle. Fulgur's Blood. More shattered glass and another bottle I didn't know the name of. She let the rest be, though I doubted if anything was left. Then she walked toward me. Stepping over the writhing Lania as though she wasn't even there. I grunted as Kach stopped in front of me. She held out the three medicines. Golden Hearth Nectar. Tundra's Water. Fulgur's Blood. The bitch wanted another fight.

I snatched the bottles and swallowed them one after another. My bones mended. My muscles repaired themselves. Then the soreness returned twice as bad. Cold flooded my muscles. Lightning raced through my veins. Neither mixed well.

"So what?" I spat blood onto the floor.

"I don't have any Magika left." She silently raised one last bottle. Second Wind Marian Hest believed exhaustion was the mind surrendering long before the body did. She created a medicine that erased the mental strain of wielding one's superpower, allowing the mind to begin anew while leaving the body to bear the consequences. Recorded in the Akashic System in the year 13518. Second Wind resets the mental fatigue accumulated from using a superpower. Physical exhaustion remains unchanged. A laugh escaped me.

Will this actually work? I uncorked the bottle and drank. It worked. Magika flooded back into me. I smashed the empty bottle against the floor and looked at Kach. The grin was back. Not the monstrous one. A smaller one. She knew I still couldn't beat her like this. She wanted more. She wanted a better fight. Once again... Her eyes settled on my chest.

"I'll give you what you want." Skillmerge appeared between us. Aerial Pivot floated above it. Shadow Detect below it. My only two silver Skillcards. And I was about to sacrifice them both.

"Activate Skillmerge." All three cards erupted with blinding light. Just before it swallowed my vision... I caught one last glimpse of Kach. She was grinning from ear to ear.