Chương 110: Lit Fuse

In the empty streets of the western slums, the distance between two figures rapidly shrank. From one side, the Redigo soldier, Colton. From the other, the owner of the Ichoris Legerdemain and undercover soldier of Agent, Evel. The moment Colton got within his range, Evel pivoted. He angled his foot, fully shifting his forward momentum into sideways momentum. He took the three cards out of his breast pocket, all now infused with energy.

With all the force he could generate with his wrists, he rapidly flicked them forward. Colton matched his movement and pivoted himself, sidestepping one card and raising his copper rod to deflect the other two. Evel had expected as much. The first card, which went into the distance, was the two of spades — a card that was just slightly extra sharp and cost the least amount of Energy. The other two were the two and three of clubs.

Right before Colton's copper rod came into contact with the cards, they exploded outward into a splurge of glue. Colton's face darkened, and his charge came to a slow, sticky glue restricting his ease of movement. Before he could get used to his restricted movement, Evel launched a fourth card, the two of hearts, that landed directly on his shoulder, causing him to jerk back. The numbered hearts had the effect of adding an increased weight to the target.

From now on until the end of the fight, his body and movements would be slightly heavier. If this fight truly dragged out as Evel expected, investing one attacking opportunity into the card would pay for itself. The four cards had cost him a good amount of energy, but Colton was lightly injured, and two blobs of glue were preventing the movement of his weapon. Everything depended on how he chose to answer. Just then, a flash of light expanded from Colton, and his hair began to rise.

Sparks crawled around his skin, instantly fizzling away the glue. Colton's sharp eyes shifted to Evel. Evel put his hands back in his breast pocket and retreated behind a large pillar. If he's a close-distance fighter, I'll just keep him at a distance and wear him down. The problem for Evel right now was a severe lack of information. Colton seemed to be equipped with two weapons — the bracelet on his left and the copper rod on his right — and he didn't know what either of them did.

Worse, he didn't even know what Colton's ability was. So far, he figured it was something to do with static electricity. Maybe— The energy around Colton surged. Sparks and bolts flickered in the air beside him before getting sucked into the copper rod. The weapon began glowing, vibrating harder with each increased bolt. Not long after, the rod looked as though it would burst. He raised the weapon towards Evel. The electricity got released.

The roar of the bolt ripped through the air and crashed into the pillar he'd been using as cover. BOOOOM! It collapsed, instantly turning to rubble. Evel burst out from behind the pillar and sprinted towards a run-down building. But the rod was still energized. Colton pivoted the rod. A sizzle. A second bolt of lightning, equally powerful as the first, roared towards him. Evel leaped forward, generating as much force in his legs as he could manage.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! BOOOOOOOM! The bolt missed, crashing into the ground. The stone floor where he'd stood had splintered, and the road was completely destroyed. Destructive was certainly the correct word. Lightning… or is that just his weapon that turns his Energy into lightning? His aura has a certain static feel to it as well… So far, he'd had one use to destroy the glue and two follow-ups from the rod to attack him.

The initial usage had been fairly weak and undirected compared to the copper rod, but he didn't want to rule anything out just yet. The copper rod was dangerous. It could shoot twice in a row and was extremely destructive. The first shot had turned a column into rubble, and the second shot the floor. If Evel were to take one of those head-on, he'd be instantly incapacitated. Jumping back to his feet, Evel continued his escape.

Getting this initial information was crucial, and arguably the most dangerous part of the battle. Now, at least, he had the opportunity to plan for the strikes. So far, Evel had only used numbered cards in the battle; those didn't have that much of an impact on his energy levels. As great as they were, they weren't enough to immediately change the fight. He needed something decisive, something that could give him the upper hand right away. The issue lay in whether his plan failed.

He'd be out of a huge chunk of his energy with no progress to show. It was a matter of risk management. I'll wait until I get some more information… He ran into the rows of buildings and kept his distance as Colton pursued closely behind. He navigated around rubble and overgrown vines, always moving to make sure he was never in Colton's direct line of sight for too long.

"If you're going to keep running, you should have done it when you had the proper chance!" Colton's voice boomed behind him. Evel gritted his teeth. Snapping his body around, he launched three cards sequentially. Colton easily sidestepped the first, then struck down the other two with another strike of lightning from his hand. Not the rod, where sparks were accumulating to almost its limit. At the very least, Evel could discern when it was ready to shoot by the intensity of the sparks surrounding it.

Evel remained light on his toes, keeping the distance between them as far as he could. But how long would he run? I just need a bit more information first… But when would it ever be enough information? The headache intensified, but he kept running nonetheless. If I can keep forcing him to use energy... No. He'd learned this lesson too many times already. When he fought the spearman, he tried to outlast his energy, but the man kept pulling his spear back.

When he fought Diana, he figured she'd run out of energy, but she continuously enchanted the pebbles. Even Lucien had his ability active for a long time without even considering his 'jackpot'. It was a strategy that could only ever be a last-ditch option. He couldn't afford to judge others based on his own capacity and affinity anymore. He kept his breathing steady, but with Colton on his tail, he was forced to quicken his pace to keep his lead.

Sweat began accumulating on his back, and his heart raced as he felt the shadow behind him grow larger. Even with the extra weight caused by the metallic card lodged in his shoulder, Colton was still faster. That'll do! Enchanting a card, he broke through a rotted door. Stumbling into the antiquated house, he ran to the other side. Colton, just behind him, barged in. Evel twisted and launched three more cards. Regular cards.

With no space to dodge, Colton extended his left hand forward and used small arcs of lightning to strike down the cards from afar. He was afraid of the glue. The copper-haired soldier began raising his weapon, threatening to blow the entire house into smithereens. But before he could get it all the way up, an explosion of sticky glue expanded from his side. From the corner of the house, Eth had launched it! The veins in Colton's forehead bulged as his eyes snapped to the location where the card had come from.

Of course, he didn't see anything. Evel bolted forward, meeting the foe head-on for the first time. Colton shot the bolt anyway, his copper rod still angled downwards. BOOOOOOOOM! The wooden floor of the abandoned house crumbled with a cloud of dust, sending both combatants flying in opposite directions. Evel's back slammed against the wall. Taking a sharp gasp, he quickly jumped to his feet. Without a moment of hesitation, he funnelled his energy into a card and sprinted into the dust cloud.

When he got close enough to see the Redigo soldier, the man had already raised his copper rod at Evel. The weapon roared as a violent lightning strike barreled directly towards Evel. Just then, he threw his card at the bolt. The red joker. The Joker collided with the lightning and absorbed all the destructive energy, killing any form of kinetic energy or force barreling towards him. Colton's eyes went wide. His powerful strike had just been completely nullified by a playing card!

Evel grinned and infused another card into his hands as he got closer, the jack of spades, which had the effect of increased weight! Important family? High talent? Destructive ability? What did any of that matter if the 'powerhouse' was about to lose to somebody who didn't have any of those! Colton bared his teeth as he raised his arms in a makeshift stance to prepare for the onslaught. Evel was already upon him.