POV: MIGUEL CASTRO.
When my eyes opened, the world was still blurred in shadows and dust.
My vision was fogged from the blow, to the point that I could barely make out my surroundings.
The only thing I was sure of was that I needed to get up. And fast.
But… the smell of smoke, burnt leather and mildew had filled my lungs, making every breath an effort.
I could feel a scratch on my head from the fall. And blood running down my face.
I wiped the blood with my shirt sleeve, which left it completely stained.
'I suppose that's the nature of the job…'
I braced my arm and put as much strength as I could gather into it.
"Ah! Damn…" I said as I tried, unsuccessfully, to stand.
After realizing I didn't have enough strength, I took a deep breath and gathered my energy as best I could
"Diamond of Mines, strengthen me!" I proclaimed.
As soon as the layer of energy formed, I felt a slight relief from the pressure. Then I had the strength needed to stand properly.
'I'm getting too old for this kind of thing…'
Now standing, I could make out where I was. I looked around…
I was surrounded by several chunks of concrete that had fallen from the floor above, where the ground had given way.
My head throbbed incessantly, each pulse a drum marking the rhythm of the pain, and blood still ran in trails from my forehead.
I tried to move slowly, my blurred vision forcing me to stare at the debris around me.
Noah wasn't in sight, but I felt his presence in the residual vibrations of the magic he had channeled.
His signature felt strong on the upper floor.
'He must be fighting one of the infected…'
Turning my attention to the environment, I realized the production line on the first floor had been cut in half by the debris, and a small mound had formed in the center.
The thermal sensation was confusing: outside, the heavy sound of rain could be heard, but inside the heat remained due to the lack of openings.
The floor under my feet trembled slightly with every step, as if the entire structure were alive, and through that it seemed to protest the weight of the rubble and the violence that had swept the place.
Still unsure where the other infected was, I searched for my weapon… and I felt its key signature a few meters ahead.
Under a fallen brick. I noticed the blue metal, marked by my energy.
It gleamed strongly in the dim light of the place. I picked it up, checked the magazine and made sure the ammo was correct.
I deactivated the safety and infused energy into the bullets to activate the summoned enchantments.
"Oh, dear Fool, purge through these bullets…"
I felt the literary-mark on my left wrist glow slightly with the connection formed between it and the seal on the weapon, indicating the enchantment was active.
I gripped the Moretti Demon tightly, feeling the weapon's weight in my hand, a comfort amid the chaos.
I heard a crack from my left and, from the corner of my eye, saw a projectile heading my way.
Taking a step back, I turned my body toward the attack while charging a sphere of energy.
Using the momentum of the turn, I struck the incoming shot with a straight cross, which deflected it into the wall.
Then, in the next second, he appeared: a middle-aged man with a huge body, eyes white as ash, who seemed to radiate concentrated energy and whose muscles were all tense with strength.
He advanced with steps like earthquakes, exuding supernatural force and speed, and his first punch crushed a pile of rubble as if it were paper.
Instinctively, I reinforced the Diamond of Mines, feeling the crystalline energy exoskeleton wrap my muscles with greater intensity.
The sensation was a mix of comfort and strain: my bones and joints now absorbed part of his force, balancing the gap between us.
He unleashed a sequence of blows that I preferred only to dodge. I needed to understand his combat pattern first.
His punches showed a certain martial quality. Was it a boxing style?
Maybe... But, despite some intent, they lacked precision and rhythm.
However, they made up for that lack with pure destructive power. After all, each strike I dodged left a crater in the floor or a hole in the nearby machines.
With Diamond of Mines, I could resist, redirect, and even transform part of his energy into momentum for my movements.
But I couldn't trade blows directly with him without taking a loss.
My body reacted almost on its own, a reflex from years of training and the chivalry I had internalized.
I needed to balance this brawl somehow…
'Then let's test it…'
I took advantage of the distance that still separated us.
"Chivalry, be my shield!" I exclaimed, while summoning marks of nullification and redirection.
With them, I could better handle the attacks.
After activating them, I closed the distance between us and, alternating between physical strikes and unsuccessful attempts at a headbutt, felt the physical difference even out.
But his stamina proved to be the new problem.
How could someone older than me keep fighting with such ferocity for so long?
There was something more…
'Damn… This is going to give me a headache later.'
I conjured a third Diamond arm and used it to strike the floor in front of us, creating an opening.
I holstered the weapon in my coat and pulled out a silver bracelet.
'Rosa, I hope this works, damn it…'
I put the bracelet on my right wrist; it fitted perfectly with the marks. Like a watch band, it was light-gray and displayed bluish runic details.
I used the contemplative moment to channel energy into the bracelet, activating the sealed enchantment within it.
"Lispector's Clairvoyance!"
It was like reading an old short story: the language had its own rules and an unusual context, but the grammatical senses remained the same.
Each movement and strike carried a narrative I could read, interpret and anticipate.
"Iron Hand…" I murmured, noticing the change in the cadence of his force. "from the Regime of a Man of Steel?"
With every charge, punch and kick, the energy vibrated in a constant way, as if his enchantment obeyed its own logic, a signature that reinforced both resistance and power.
The strategy became clear.
His legs sustained all the force his body projected forward.
If I broke his base, I would unbalance the foundation of his power, and could level the fight that way.
I channeled more energy into the Moretti Demon. Wielding it on the Diamond arm, I fired at the infected's legs.
The man staggered, his resistant muscles finally giving to small damages, subtle fissures I could exploit.
He reacted with a kick that ripped through the air, and I absorbed part of the impact with the exoskeleton, redirecting the rest into the ground.
The metallic sound echoed through the warehouse; every reverberation mixed with the smell of burnt iron and smoke.
I kept my eyes fixed, my breathing controlled and my senses sharp in reading his energy.
Subsequent attacks were analyzed in fractions of a second; the lapse in his concentration created an opportunity for me to use.
I advanced cautiously, alternating shots at the man's knees with carefully trained evasions, perfected by the chivalry mark I carried.
Aware of my movements, he countered with brutal force, each punch and kick loaded with supernatural power.
In an instant, he aimed a strike straight at my torso, and I felt the impact travel through my muscles, vibrating through the exoskeleton but without breaking my balance.
The almost metallic sound of the blow was lost in the racket of the place, while my senses remained on alert.
My mind concentrated on analyzing every detail, almost as if reading a narrative unfolding in real time.
The pattern of his movements, the cadence of his strength, all part of a story I needed to decipher quickly.
Lispector's Clairvoyance manifested like a lens, allowing my eyes and hands to interpret the energy pulsing around him.
On contact, it revealed subtle signs of fatigue, imbalance and small flaws in the enchantment that strengthened his blows.
Every strike I managed to land on his legs seemed to drain a bit of his vitality, making his subsequent attacks slightly less precise, less devastating.
The roar he let out, deep and furious, was a warning that he still had strength to continue, but the signs of wear were visible if you knew where to look.
He behaved like a stubborn animal that wouldn't let go of its prey.
There was no room for hesitation; any distraction could be fatal.
I funneled more energy into the Diamond of Mines, feeling the exoskeleton vibrate in response to the growing pressure.
My movements needed to become a calculated link between my strength and his, an extension of my body and my will.
Fatigue pressed on me, but the precise reading of his energy kept me a step ahead.
Controlled breathing, despite the effort, helped synchronize shots, dodges and strikes.
I prepared for the decisive moment.
I passed the weapon from Mines's grip to my own.
The Moretti Demon was steady in my right hand now; I had to calculate my shots precisely, because there were only a few rounds left.
I knew that disabling his locomotion would be the key to creating space, neutralizing his strength and finishing the fight effectively.
The gun pulsed with concentrated energy, burning my hand slightly, while my mind fixed on that critical point and the exact instant that would decide the battle.
Then, without warning, the unexpected came.
A stumble…
Without questioning whether it was luck or coincidence, I fired twice, with precision, into his left thigh.
After the shots, the infected let out a cry of pain and dropped to his knees, clutching the place where the wound had formed.
I approached cautiously, keeping the weapon raised.
His energy signature had steadied a bit... but I couldn't lower my guard yet.
Suddenly, the infected lunged forward and vomited an explosion of viscous, burning green slime.
I had expected something like that; I had a moment to react, but the man was faster.
The green goo hit my left arm brutally, burning the skin and penetrating the Diamond of Mines's barrier, corroding part of the exoskeleton.
Pain erupted in violent waves, climbing my arm and setting the muscles on fire, seeming to create electric impulses that inhibited the flow of energy already running in my veins.
A scream escaped involuntarily from my throat, but there wasn't much time for lament or hesitation.
I reacted instinctively, stepping back several paces, my heart racing, breathing hard, while my eyes remained fixed on the enemy who now, more than ever, represented a real and unpredictable threat.
"Damn…" I murmured, feeling every muscle tense, my pulse throbbing in my temples.
The heat of the burn mixed with the headaches, and my nerves screamed in alarm.
The man recovered his posture almost immediately; the crooked smile on his white face showed that the surprise attack would only make him more confident.
The pain in my left arm was intense, yet I focused on channeling the Diamond of Mines around the wound, reinforcing the energy that still allowed me to move the arm.
I took advantage of that and reloaded the Moretti Demon with my left hand, in that moment
I almost felt the weapon as an extension of my body and the exoskeleton.
'I can't falter now.'
Noah was still somewhere out there, and every lost second could be costly.
The man advanced again, throwing intense punches and kicks, interspersed with unpredictable movements.
I used the chivalry mark to redirect attacks, kept my balance and absorbed energy whenever I could.
I couldn't let my energy run out.
Contacts with his brute force taught me more about the cadence of the enchantment.
He had patterns, even if subtle, and consequently flaws that could be exploited
I intensified the attacks on the legs, fired the Moretti Demon in sequence, hitting tendons and muscles.
With each impact I noticed the reduction in mobility, and his anxiety reflected in more erratic movements.
I took advantage of an opening and advanced with a sequence of calculated strikes, using part of the Diamond's energy to boost my punches and kicks.
He backed off, but did not give up.
A powerful punch came toward me, and I used the exoskeleton to absorb part of the force, redirecting the rest with a spinning movement that resembled the stance of a knight facing a larger mount.
Lispector's Clairvoyance guided me, interpreting micro-variations in the energy and indicating signs of fatigue, imbalance and physical strain.
Suddenly, I felt the chance to finish. Moretti Demon was charged, the shots precisely aimed at his legs.
Each shot exploded against flesh and magic, creating fissures and maneuvers that unbalanced him.
He staggered, trying to react, but his base was weakened.
I moved in to deliver the final blow, concentrating Diamond energy into the impact that could knock him down and permanently incapacitate his locomotion.
Before I could finish, he surprised me again.
This time, an energy sphere shot from his mouth and exploded as I approached.
A flare formed; I felt my reflexes slow for a few dangerous fractions of a second.
The exoskeleton energy wavered.
"Not now…, shit!" I cursed as I reinforced the energy around my wounded arm.
The muscle seemed to scream, but my focus remained on the target.
I could not fall back.
This fight could have no outcome other than victory
I recovered my balance, repositioned the Moretti Demon and restarted the offensive.
Every micro-movement indicated the moment to strike, unbalance and undermine his power source.
Finally, a real opening appeared.
He tripped over his own feet trying to regain stability; the sequence of shots had taken effect.
And his left knee, practically broken after so many wounds, finally gave way.
I advanced with my right hand, leaned on the exoskeleton's strength and prepared the final strike.
His breathing was heavy; every muscle demanded more than it could bear. The pressure on me only increased from the heat of the wound and the effort to control the Diamond of Mines.
With my whole body focused on the decisive impact, I dropped Moretti Demon.
The Diamond of Mines pulsed like an extension of every fiber of my being.
The battle was about to end, but the burn on my left arm reminded me that nothing would be easy.
I couldn't waste a second and the last move needed to be perfect.
I leapt over the chunk of concrete that separated us and charged an energy sphere to knock him out once and for all.
The heavy air, the smell of smoke and the creaking of beams under the weight of destruction conspired to make every moment a fight for life or death.
But I was ready.