My heart hamred in my chest like a drum, Aki and I were in the midst of an exhausting exchange. Every second determined the next course of the battle, every action forced the next encounter.
It was the first ti I was in such a high stakes battle. Everything I threw at her, Aki countered with impunity. I just got my right ear slashed and my forehead split open. Blood gushed out, soaking my hair and forcing my eyes to close.
The reality that I might die sent adrenaline rushing through my veins like a drug. In the eternity of a single thought, my mind raced for a solution. Aki was far too powerful in close combat. I tried to use my weapons at close range, but it seed useless.
'Shit, guys, co on. I need so help!' I complained to the {Fates} I considered my allies.
With only one eye open, I awkwardly moved the muzzle of the MAC-11 to follow Aki. Although her kick was useless, my opponent moved her body and grappled with mine.
Despite my best efforts, her legs wrapped around my neck and locked in a head scissor. Anyone who has seen MCU movies knew what ca next.
"Fuck..."
Like a top being wound up, Aki used her body weight to drag my head to the floor. As she twisted her figure like a snake, I was sent crashing a few ters away. Her actions went through {Withstand} again, preventing from gaining any advantage.
It was lucky that I had {Endure}, otherwise my back would have been broken by now. From the speed, to the precision, to the power of her throws, Aki was body slamming all over the place.
"Ugh, Aki, can you stand still and let shoot you already?" I grumbled.
"Huff, Smith-san, you are incorrigible! You have way too many weapons! Just die please!"
"Like you're any different!"
As I got back up, the woman seed to switch weapons again, now holding a single katana. Of course, the MAC-11's were no longer on when I was thrown around. I drew the Punisher 1911's, so at least I wasn't completely unard.
"{Withdraw}, Mk II, P30L, 629 Competitor."
I called new weapons to my body as a precaution. I still had the M24, MP5SD, and M60, but I was better off with handguns because of our close range.
'Shit, {Rewind} still needs at least 7 minutes. How the hell am I supposed to last that long?'
{Reload} and {Regen} were not enough to win this fight. If I was going to turn this around, it had to be {Rewind}. In addition to restoring my health, healing my wounds, and repairing my weapons, my {Fate} also teleported back to my original location.
I had already experinted with using it as an escape route or an offensive attack. The problem with both approaches was the long cooldown. {Auto} took a day, while {Save} took an hour. If I wanted to use it offensively, I needed to be able to change my save point quickly.
'{Rewind}, it has been a while since we were alone. But I'm going to need you to do sothing. You already know what I need, partner.'
My soul gem burned at that mont, as if {Rewind} was telling not to give up.
"There is no chance for your victory, Smith-san. Even if you have all of our {Fates}, I already know how to counter them all. Aside from {Regen}, your own {Fates} all require a lot of planning."
"We won't know until we try, right? Isn't that why you keep switching weapons?"
"..."
"{Gather} can be used to morize an opponent's movent. That was why you tried to hide your moves, right? When that beca impossible, you switched weapons in mid-battle to throw off."
"That's right. I was always grateful for {Digest}, but it is annoying to face in battle, normal people would have died to my poisons in the first minute," the woman in the fox mask replied coldly.
"Aki, you are fucking terrifying, do you know that?"
"Ara, but Smith-san, you are pretty scary too. A week ago, you were just a civilian, but every ti your partners evolve their {Fates}, you evolve further like a demon."
"What are you talking about?" I asked to stall for ti.
"Smith-san, when I look at you, I think of the saying, 'After the rain, the ground hardens.' You currently have seven level 3 {Fates} and one level 4. When you reunite with your harem, how much more powerful will you beco?"
"It's you girls who are amazing. I am just a cheater trying my best."
"Enough talk. I know you are trying to stall for ti, Smith-san. Let show you the {Fate} I gained after becoming a Phantom."
"As if I would let you!"
Not wanting to wait for her to summon a power I didn't know about, I shot both 1911s at Aki. But like a character from an ani, the bladed kitsune parried the 9mm Parabellum bullets with nothing but her sword.
"Here I co, Smith-san! {Carve}!"
Aki suddenly vanished like a blur, my eyes enhanced by {Perceive} was able to catch a glimpse of her movents. The woman lowered her stance and charged quickly, intending to draw her Katana like a samurai.
It was so fast, I barely had ti to react. {Hike} and {Carry} allowed to move faster, but I needed ti to gain speed. My opponent had no such problem, as she seed to teleport in a burst of speed.
'{CODE}!'
Ti slowed down in response to my call. I saw Aki moving at normal speed in this world where ti was supposed to be frozen.
'Holy fuck! She moves at that speed even in the tenths of a millisecond? No wonder I could barely see her!'
I raised my arms to block her slash coming towards . Unfortunately, whether it was her speed or {Carve}, my 1911s offered no resistance. Their upper receivers were severed in two as ti flowed back again after our exchange.
Without a weapon, I tried to tackle Aki. Only to have her knee slam into my side. Enduring the blow, I cast {Pack} as I tried to throw her to the ground.
'A Katana is near useless in extrely close quarters, at this distance her fists could not harm !'
But against all odds, a sharp blade buried itself in my back and stopped my movents. Like a stake, Aki forced her weapon deeper into my flesh.
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