Jayhawk+, Nick Venom [i have read the book a hundred times .TXT] 📗

on his heels.

“Where are you going?” The medic knight asked. She wore a completely white outfit with a large red cross on her front. A name tag on her chest reading, “Brittany Stand”, exposed her name. “I need you to help me with him.”

“There’s going to be more casualties if I don’t hurry. Call another unit to help you!” He shouted as he returned into the Slums.

“Wait, there’s no more reinforce-” She stopped talking, noticing that he was out of earshot. “He can’t hear me anymore. What’s the point.” She focused on AJ, healing the wounds with her medium-sized mana pool.

 

“I can make it if… I knew where I was going.” He remarked, recognizing that he was lost, unsure of what path they had taken to reach AJ. Kodi slapped himself softly. “Come on, I should’ve paid more attention. How could I forget what path we used to get into the slums, I need to…” His voice trailed off as he remembered Alita climbing onto the balcony and going on the roofs. She was able to see farther than he could via the roofs. 

With no experience, he decided to jump up and grab at the balcony with no luck. He continued again and again until a rat approached him.

“I know where your friends are.” The rat told him.

“You did? Take me to them.”

 

TBC…

The New Guard: Season One [Episode Six "Let The Gods Bless Us"]

Sand charged forward, the tip of his sword pointing downward. He brought the sword up as he neared the man, clashing with his curved dagger. The sounds of the weapons clashing echoed off the crowded surroundings. The momentum they carried with them pushed both men away from each other, both of them recovering quickly and engaging in a staring contest.

Meanwhile, Alita flanked the man, brandishing her dagger, and waited for the perfect opportunity.

Rahim and Maysa waited in the queue to join the fight, all eyes staring intensely at the man. He erupted in short laughter before glancing over his shoulder at Alita. He grinned twistedly, his eyes tracking her small movements.

Alita froze, gulping audibly. She yelled for her body to run but her feet rooted themselves in the rooftops. She was frozen stiff, stuck to watch the man stare at her creepily. She was… afraid.

The man turned away, licking his lips, before charging forward. Sand followed his lead, both of them clashing again. They were both blown away by the momentum but recovered quickly, continuing to slash at each other. 

The fight was slowly turning into a standstill - amazing but terrifying at the same time. Sand sent four inexperienced teens to face a threat strong enough to stop his attacks.

By this time, Rahim had become impatient, glancing at Maysa. She nodded her head as he did his. They faced forward and charged. Alita, seeing them, regained her courage and broke out of her spot. She ran to a new spot, preparing to ambush him but a sudden glare delayed her attack. She changed position, hoping to find a spot to ambush the man.

Her attack kept being delayed.

Rahim and Maysa, meanwhile, ran alongside each other, waiting for the clash of swords to end and give them the opportunity they needed. They jumped at the opportunity once it prepared itself, sprinting towards the man and swinging downward at him. The man grinned before taking a step backward, escaping both strikes, and picked his gaze to linger on Rahim. 

“I expected more from the General’s son.” He muttered before creepily laughing.

Rahim glared at the man before pressing forward against Maysa’s wishes. She shouted at him to stop, but he let his emotions overtake him. He swung desperately at the man, but all attacks were parried and thrown towards the ground. The tip of his sword scraped the ground more times than he touched the man’s cloak. He kept moving, just staying out of Rahim’s attack radius.

“Get back here, Rahim!” Sand ordered. Rahim ignored him, continuing. He slashed downward then tried a surprise upward attack. A sideway attack morphed into a swirl and kick which ended with no difference in health. Nothing was working.

Sand shook his head before he pressed his fingertips together and channeled his mana, exhaling a few times before enough bubbled up. I need to activate it. They’re going to die without my help. It’s my fault. He thought to himself. He activated a skill---Physical Enhancement V---feeling his strength increasing by fifty-fold. With his new skill in action, he took long and confident strides towards the man, his intimidating aura ever-increasing. He held the handle of the sword tightly and pressed forward, slashing at the man. The man parried Rahim’s blow, the momentum throwing him to the ground as Sand charged in. The man brought up his sword, not noticing the difference in strength as Sand looked the same, only his aura changing, and prepared himself to parry the blow.

Sand threw a downward swing that carried his full strength. The man raised his weapon half-heartedly, expecting the same strength as usual. However, the strength was different. The weight on the sword broke the man’s dagger, the man’s eyebrows nearly jumping and escaping his forehead. He fell to the ground, his broken dagger next to him. 

“Well… I was not expecting this.” He remarked comedically. “I expected the same things from…” His eyes turned dark blue. “...a half-crook of a guard like you.” He jumped up, his hands not helping in his recovery, and faced Sand without a weapon. He didn’t need one, bringing his palm to his heart.

He spurted out blood for a second before recovering, smiling at Sand. “I wonder if you land like sand?” He mocked, mumbling something under his breath.

Sand recognized the mumbling as a chant. He raised his sword and slashed downward, hoping to kill the man before the chant was completed.

He failed.

The man’s chant went through, his first action seeing Sand’s sword being ripped out of his grip and thrown far into the sky. 

He smiled twistedly. “They do call me the Slum Ripper. I rip kids from the earth and watch them-” He made the sound-effect with his mouth and put emphasis through hand gestures. “-splat!”

Sand glared at the man. They were both unarmed, an easy fight for the more experienced Sand. He smiled for the first time, pushing forward. 

However, the man didn’t want a disadvantageous one-on-one duel. He pointed his palm at Sand and watched as he was lifted into the air, his skill weighing him down but not enough to escape the man’s skill.

Rahim turned to face the man, hoping to catch him off-guard, which didn’t work. The man pointed his palm at Rahim and Maysa in quick succession, throwing them into the air, higher than Sand because they didn’t have a skill that could weigh them down. 

Alita, meanwhile, made her own opportunity, jumping down from the roof. She didn’t have a skill awoken, but her father gifted her a pair of shoes that allowed her to descend at a speed at which she controlled. She dropped to the ground, beelining it towards the man. However, her attack had been expected; the man turned to face her with his palm pointed at her. She levitated to Rahim and Maysa’s level. They had been caught in a clever trick by the man. He exaggerated his cowardice to lure in trainees. With them dead or wounded, he lured in the bigger fish. Sand was his meal ticket out of the Slums and Holy Legend itself.

The man turned to face them all. “You, my friend, have been trapped. Now you will die at the hands of Vision Harsh, infamously known as Slum Ripper. Now I’ll be known as the serial killer, Royal Guard Slaughterer!”

 

 

***

The male street rat led Kodi to his friends, passing by the female street rat running in the opposite direction. After the fighting began, she hurried away.

They reached the open clearing, making it at a quicker time. The street rat knew short-cuts that got them to the clearing in half the original time.

Kodi handed the rat a loaf of bread, not sparing a second thought about how he gave out an entire loaf of bread, and raced into the conflict. Sand and the others were whisked high into the air, Sand remained lower than the others, unable to do anything but abide by Vision's mercy. 

He brandished his sword, ducking behind a building. He gathered his strength and confidence, glancing at Vision. If they couldn’t defeat him, how could I? He asked himself. He was ranked the weakest of the eight Enlisted. Nobody could defeat him, not even their Mentor.

So what? Should I give in? Should I concede and back off? NO! I am Kodi Harden, the son of Rico Harden. I will not buckle under this killer. I am stronger than him. I am. I am. I am.

With his courage and strength bubbling at his feet, he raised his weapon and pointed it at the sky. “Let the Gods bless me.” He whispered.

He went around the corner, while Vision was busy mocking his prisoners, and charged at him. He gripped the sword tightly, his nails cutting into his skin. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them. He wanted to see Vision die.

He was five feet from Vision, closer than the others. He put all of his weight onto the sword swing, swinging downward. The sword sliced the air, threatening Vision’s life. His back was turned on Kodi.

I got him. Nobody can say I’m the weakest. I’m not a liability. You see this Breanna? I’m-

The sword hit Vision in the head, but the momentum was cut off the moment it touched a hair. It didn’t pass through his pentagon hair, something keeping it away from him. His plan didn’t work.

“I expected a lot more.” Vision turned to face Kodi. “At least, the others had some type of strength. I didn’t even need a percent of Gravity to stop your strike. Are you sure you’re a Royal Guard?” He asked, tilting his head. He smiled menacingly. 

Kodi’s eyes widened, giving Vision twisted excitement. Kodi dropped his sword, angling his body as he threw a punch. It connected with Vision’s face but dealt no damage. It was like a leaf smacking him in the face.

“Oh, that was worse.”

Kodi’s heart sank lower. 

“You are the worst of them all. I feel… bad for you.” He smiled while saying. He was enjoying himself, watching as Kodi shrunk under his comments. 

Kodi tried to muster up the strength, but his attacks were worthless. He trained like his comrades… but for what? He couldn’t keep up with them, constantly on the verge of being expelled. He was considered the worst for a reason.

Vision laughed in Kodi’s face before grabbing his arm and shoving him to the ground. Kodi hit the ground harshly, his body bouncing off the cracked cement. Vision laid his left leg on Kodi’s back, holding him down. He tried to get up, but Vision’s strength kept him down. He couldn’t escape.

“In the future, you’ll thank me for this. I’m doing you a favor.” He raised his right foot and, with his momentum and his skill Gravity, he stomped on Kodi’s right arm. He then raised himself, seeing if the bone was broken, before going in for another strike. He continued stomping