I put my mother down and stood up. My body scread to the universe—my mind had forced beyond my limits. Why was this happening to . i couldn't understand.
Randy was a walking horror, consud by raw rage and madness. Lost in his pride, he had but one goal: to destroy my life. It was unbelievable that the ager serum he had sipped from that cup had granted him such terrifying strength.
“You ruined my life, Cipher.” He bellowed “Now I’m going to end yours!”
I cared little when it was only suffering by his hands—until he dared to touch my family.
He charged forward, and I managed to block his first attack with my arms. The blow was aid at my face, and it would have crushed my skull had I not instinctively skidded back. That’s when I saw my sister, frozen in disbelief.
“Wait!” I stopped him, “I’m going to fight you—but not here, not in front of my sister.”
I had wanted to end things then and there, but protecting my sister ca first. Unexpectedly, Randy backed down. I figured he wished to face in a fair duel, free from distractions. We moved to a nearby field outside the farm.
He just killed my mother and yet he showed no remorse for his actions. Before I could even begin, he attacked first, launching into a relentless assault. His speed was astonishing—at least five tis mine. Although my body lagged behind, my senses were quicker; his strikes were slow to the mind but too fast to evade completely, focused on my head, their force nearly destined to shatter my skull. I was forced to retreat at least five feet with each blow to buy ti, anticipating and deflecting his attacks.
By the fourth hit, fractures crept along the bones in my arms. His speed was matched by the sheer destructiveness of his power.
After absorbing the serum, my body had transford into sothing superhuman—I had believed I was on the road to becoming the world’s strongest hero. Yet here I was, battered by Randy, who had taken only a sar of the serum.
My mind raced for a solution as my body neared its breaking point, unable to sustain this state for more than ten minutes.
Using my hyper-cognition, I studied his movents: a straight punch, an uppercut, followed by a low sweep kick. Though his cycles varied, they always began and ended in the sa predictable pattern. Within thirty seconds, I detected a rhythm.
I began to predict and slightly alter the direction of his strikes, but in that fight, it ultimately ca down to speed and power as the leading factor. We clashed in a furious flurry of blows—each strike from Randy threatening to shatter my bones and anything nearby. I remained mostly on the defensive as ti raced against . To win, I would have to do more than rely anticipate his attacks. But my opponent was no ordinary foe.
Randy was a skilled fighter. Growing up among hoodlums and carving out his own violent dominion on the west side of the city had honed his instincts. His adaptation to his new-found power confird his brutal expertise. Eventually, my arms’ bones shattered completely, and five of my ribs fractured. Soon, my body reverted to its normal state, the blue energy dissipating from . At that point, I could only move my head and legs.
Seizing an opportunity, Randy unleashed a low sweep that broke my left leg, leaving on my knees, bleeding profusely. He then resud his assault on my face, shouting as he punched relentlessly:
“You made a fool out of ! You destroyed my life! You’re nothing but a pest—pest, pest, pest!”
They say the brain does not feel pain, but I could feel my skull crushing and twisting as searing agony radiated through my body. The bastard had killed my mother, and I hadn’t even landed a single blow.
Stepping back, Randy prepared what he called his final attack.
“Pathetic!” he snarled. Looking down on as he did many other tis, “After I’m done here, I’m going after your sister. Maybe she’ll put up more of a challenge than you did,”
That declaration—threatening my sister on top of murdering my mother—drove back to a razor’s edge of resolve. I realized then that the true purpose of this fight was not rely to defeat him in combat, but to eradicate the beast hell-bent on annihilating my entire family, my purpose for living. There was only one way to end him with the remaining strength at my disposal.
Before I could react further, Randy landed another brutal punch. Darkness enveloped as I felt myself being swallowed by shadow. And then, suddenly, a misty mory of my father flooded my mind. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but his voice lifted from that abyss into light. Blue electric energy burst around once more—I called it the “The Solid-State.” The power within felt stable and palpable.
Whatever was happening, it was making stronger for a limited ti.
“You think I’m afraid of glowing eyes? It’s over for you!” Randy countered as he surged toward , unleashed at his greatest speed and power. He struck again—a punch with one goal, to crash my skull.
For a mont he waited, confident that his attack had been fatal. But I was still on my feet. Our gazes t, and in his eyes, I caught a glimpse of trembling.
The fractures in my head and arms began to nd. I felt energy coalescing around my vital organs. In the second round, my body pushed even further past its limits. Yet this state drew on enormous energy, and I had no more than a minute left before it would fade. I had to create an opening for my final attack. Summoning every ounce of remaining force, I directed my body’s montum to channel the power of my punch.
Despite its diminished effect, that opening gave a chance. I replayed the fight in my mind, adjusting and predicting every move Randy made. And then I stopped for a mont, having read all of Randy’s moves..
“Why?” I asked him. I was suddenly curious about sothing. “What have I done to make you tornt for years—to go so far as to target my family?”
“Humph! Why did I do it, you ask?” He stalked closer. “To put you in your place! I warned you not to act up!”
“Put in my place? That’s it? That’s your justification for torturing for years—for killing my mother? There has to be more—a reason that makes sense for your endless insanity to ruin my life.”
“You don’t understand, do you?” he spat, getting closer to . “In this world, the strong rule over the weak. You fancied yourself a king, smart and above everyone. I wanted to bring you down. It’s as simple as that.”
“So you killed my mother because I was weak? I see,”
An opening had appeared. Concentrating all my remaining energy in my right arm, I moved at my greatest speed. With my fingertips acting as projectiles, I pierced through his eyes—his only weak spot. It was the one way to stop him.
In retaliation, Randy grabbed by the ribs and crushed them. I felt my lungs collapsing inside . But I was not done; I summoned every last scrap of strength and forced my fingers even further into his eyes. Randy finally crumpled, his hands still embedded in my chest, and he died on the spot.
Exhausted beyond asure, I sank to the ground under the cold light of the moon. As I gazed upward, a voice echoed in my ears: “Enemy defeated. Well done.” Then, everything faded, and I lost consciousness.
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