RODERICK stood there, untouched. No injury. Not even a scorch mark from the flames.
VEYRA: (Her tactical mind racing) "How did you move so fast? You were there... now you're here, not injured. Like you're fresh. What is your Cube?"
RODERICK: (A slow, arrogant smile) "No Cube. I'll tell you, since you'll lose this fight anyway. It's simple. It's magic. Heard about it?"
Veyra's thoughts flashed to a certain dark elf in the city Neo, with his shadow manipulation. Kinda.
RODERICK: "The main trick works like this: I create save points. A quicksave. Right now. So I can return fast, no injury. But I lose all the stuff I gained in the battle. Like that sword." He gestured to where the flame blades had been. "You, however, remain the same. So remember this: there are five types of magic."
He held up a hand, counting them off like a lecturer.
"Elemental magic. Dark magic. Healing magic. Reality-warping magic which is mine, and the most dangerous. And weapon magic."
VEYRA: (Reholstering one gun, her expression icy) "Good intel. I'll use it to destroy you."
RODERICK: (Laughing) "You've already lost." He moved, but not toward her. He punched the air again, and the space between them flash-froze solid, creating a jagged wall of ice.
Veyra didn't hesitate. She dropped and fired a shock bullet into the floor at her own feet. The arcing electricity grounded through the metal grating, creating a dazzling, unpredictable web of energy.
Roderick, mid-dash to flank her, had to abort. He leaped back, but a stray arc jumped to the frost-covered wall he was near, zapping his arm. He cursed, disengaging to the side.
VEYRA: (A cold smirk) "Nice shock, right? Gets the brain working."
She coiled like a spring and dashed, a blur of dark blue armor. In that same motion, her gun was at his temple. BANG!
Just in time RODERICK's eyes widened a fraction of a second before the world rewound.
He stumbled back a step, the gunshot echo vanishing, the impending death erased. Pure, unadulterated rage burned in his eyes.
RODERICK: "You'll pay for that." His voice was a snarl. He focused, muttering. "Hidden move... Raiji's most powerful blade... ugh, no good. Too strong to pull. His weakest blade..."
The air shimmered beside him. Baneblade materialized in his hand, its familiar hilt looking alien in his grip.
RODERICK: (Hefting it with a cruel smile) "Nice. I don't need a name for this one. And now you're done."
VEYRA: (Eyes locked on her crewmate's stolen sword) "You've been spying. That's how you know our names. Means you know our weaknesses. That's why you split us up." Her mind raced, pieces clicking. "But why did you come against me?"
BANG! BANG! Two explosive rounds, point-blank.
Roderick, now with Baneblade, didn't flinch. He took a perfect swordsman's stance Raiji's stance and slashed downward. A crescent of compressed wind met the bullets in mid-air, detonating them harmlessly. The slash continued, carving a deep gouge down the middle of the corridor wall.
He charged after her, swinging. Veyra dodged a slash, then another, the wind from the blade tearing chunks from the walls. She fired twice more not at him, but at his legs. The first shot was explosive, the second from her other gun contained a fast-acting neuro-toxin.
Roderick twisted, avoiding a direct hit, but the toxin grazed his calf. He grunted, his movements faltering for a split second. Veyra reloaded her primary gun with a stun round and fired again.
He barely parried it with a wild swing, the concussive stun energy dissipating against the wind.
RODERICK: (Breathing harder, the toxin making his vision swim) "Good one. I won't reset again. Wonder why?" He grinned through the pain. "I got your friend's blade by altering the past for me. I reached into a moment he was distracted and took it. It's not permanent... but soon your friend will only have one blade."
He took a shaky step forward. "Distance matters. If I took your suit, it would vanish instantly because you're right here. But your friend's sword? It'll take about five minutes because of the distance. And yes, I split you up based on your weaknesses." His grin turned manic. "My reason for attacking you? I am the smartest. you threat as a strategist."
VEYRA: (Calculating: Five minutes. Distance. Non-permanent.) "Sure. That just means I have to finish you fast."
She shot again. He dodged, but it was a feint. She was already inside his guard, a suit-enhanced kick connecting with his chest and launching him into the air.
Roderick crashed to the ground, coughing blood. He felt his heart hammering erratically the toxin, the impact. He focused, reaching for his quicksave
RODERICK: "You're buying time."
VEYRA: (Gasping, his hand pausing) "You're a faster learner. I still ask... why did I come after me? Someone so stupid?" she laughed, a wet, bloody sound. "More like... stupid vs. smart."
Roderick snarled, raising both hands. From his gauntlets, he conjured two massive, spiked guns made of ice and fire. "How dare you! My new sword is gone!" He'd clearly just reloaded after losing Baneblade.
He swung a frost-encrusted punch. Veyra ducked. A follow-up flame-wreathed punch melted the lingering ice in the air. He unleashed a furious barrage.
Veyra didn't just dodge; she weaved through the onslaught, her suit's agility letting her bend around strikes, while her revolvers barked back, shots pocking the walls all around him.
RODERICK: (Panting, frustrated) "Veyra's power suit... why can't I take it? Do I need its name?!"
VEYRA: "It's mine. You can't have it." In the opening created by his confusion, she dashed inside his guard, a blur of motion. Before he could react, she had a gun barrel pressed to his temple. "Enough, weakling."
BANG.
RODERICK: "Reload."
He vanished. Reappeared in the same spot, unharmed, already summoning another ice blade.
But Veyra was ready. She had predicted the reset. Her other hand was already there, palm open against his side, where her suit's close-range concussion emitter fired point-blank.
FWUMP-BOOM!
A silent, blue blast of concussive force blew him off his feet and through the sheet-metal wall behind him. She was moving before he hit the ground, dashing through the hole after him, guns leading.
RODERICK: (Sprawled in the next room) "Reload!"
He vanished again. Reappeared, already under fire. Veyra's bullets tore through the space he occupied. He reloaded. Appeared, got shot. Reload. Reload. Reload. Reload.
He was a ghost flickering in and out of existence, each reappearance met with instant, precise gunfire. He was burning through his "saves" frantically, with no time to attack.
Finally, a moment of stability. He gasped for air. Veyra didn't aim for his body. CRACK-CRACK! Two shots shattered his knee caps.
RODERICK: "AHHH! DAMN YOU! Reload!"
He reappeared standing, knees whole, but his breath was ragged, his magic visibly straining.
Veyra didn't let him reset mentally. A suit-enhanced kick launched him into the air. As he fell, she grabbed his arm and slammed him back-first into the concrete floor with a sickening crunch.
RODERICK: (Wheezing, blood at his lips) "Rel...load..."
He focused. Nothing happened. The air didn't warp. He remained broken on the ground.
A look of pure horror dawned on his face.
VEYRA: (Looking down at him, her voice cold and final) "Oh. Out of magic? Good. Here's your beating."
She leaned down. CRUNCH. One heavy, armoured fist to his jaw. CRACK. A second, pistol-whipping blow across his temple.
Captain Roderick's eyes rolled back. He fell silent, out cold.
Meanwhile, on the 3rd floor...
KIRO: (Spitting blood, a fierce grin on his face) "Let's double-team him. We haven't worked as a team in a while. Let's do this!"
RAIJI: (Nodding, Baneblade held at the ready) "Sure. I'd like to try a new combo."
They moved in sync. Raiji slashed the air, unleashing a horizontal wind blade. As it shot forward, he became a blur, launching into his "Mininado" technique a spinning vortex of slashes aimed to distract and constrict.
Kiro used the opening, leaping high above the whirlwind, fist cocked for a hammer-blow from the sky.
The Brigadier General didn't even look up at Kiro. With a contemptuous flick of his wrist, he backhanded the diving Kiro as if swatting a fly. The impact sent Kiro crashing back-first into the wall with a sickening BANG.
Raiji closed the distance in that split second, Baneblade aiming for a precise thrust at the General's side. The General shifted his weight, caught Raiji's sword arm, and used his own momentum to hurl him across the room.
Kiro was already pushing off the wall, shaking off the impact. He feinted high, then went for a low sweep. The General blocked, grabbed his leg, and was about to slam him when Raiji was back, forcing him to release Kiro to parry a slash.
BRIGADIER GENERAL: (Eyes glowing red, voice a bored growl) "Not so fast."
Before Raiji's follow-up could land, the General preemptively kicked at empty air right where Kiro was lunging from. Kiro had to abort, throwing himself backward to avoid the strike that seemed to anticipate him.
RAIJI: (Breathing heavily, eyes narrowed) "Kiro... this guy is predicting our movements. Like he sees the future."
KIRO: (Pushing himself up from the floor, his face bruised) "Sounds familiar. Happened to me. I was at high speed, even I couldn't keep up, but King Croc predicted where I'd be and hit me. Still don't know how he did it."
RAIJI: "We have to think fast, or he wins."
KIRO: "Must be something with focus... This is something straight out of those ancient anime."
BRIGADIER GENERAL: (Cracking his neck, a slow, arrogant smile spreading) "Come at me, weaklings. Don't keep me waiting."