The glass serpent surged at Noah, slithering across the air at breakneck speed, while Hadrian watched from afar.
Noah jumped high into the air and grabbed the dented railing of the apartment building he crashed into earlier. The serpent crashed into the wall below and flowing into the building like a black cable.
The sound of it crashing through more walls echoed as Noah got a foothold on the balcony and jumped from it to a signboard. He bounced off anything he could to gain a foot, then across the building.
The glass serpent blasted through walls trying to impale him on one of its many spikes, then surged back into the building, crashing through multiple walls easily.
Its long, spiny body was like a thread drawing itself in and out of a cloth, chasing after Noah, who was searching for the boundary of the Liminal room.
He couldn't kill Hadrian, no matter how crazy the guy was. Killing a Keeper would be like shooting a cop. You'd bring the entire city down on your head.
He needed to escape no matter what, but he didn't know how he could break the boundary. His guess was that physical attacks wouldn't work.
While he thought, the serpent stopped emerging from the walls. He searched the area, landing on a billboard and looking over the green-tinted world of the Liminal room.
With his powerful hearing and the eerie silence of the room, Noah traced the serpent as it slammed through the wall. The strange cracking sound that the serpent made tormented his ears.
Is it growing?
Why would it keep growing when it's already as long as multiple buildings?
His answer came shortly after when a thunderous crack filled the air and made him clutch his flaming head.
Then the building began falling.
Multiple buildings were falling all around him. Their shadows drowned out the green light as they bore down on him. The buildings looked too slow as they fell, his mind confused by the massive blocks of stone coming down on him.
He went intangible, surrounded by rumbling and falling rubble. He sank underground just before the buildings hit and was enveloped by darkness.
He pointed his body right at Hadrian with a vendetta and let go of his breath. The earth shot him out moderately fast. The ground and buildings blurred as he neared Hadrian.
The man shook his head like he was disappointed. Noah ignored him, skidding across the ground, then jumping right at him, fist pulled back.
Hadrian dodged the first blow, but it didn't shock Noah. He was holding back so as to not mistakenly kill the man.
On the second blow he put his back into it. Hadrian couldn't dodge so he raised a forearm to guard; maybe a broken arm would help the man.
The impact of Noah's punch raised dust and made the air whistle. But Hadrian was unmoved; he lowered his head, revealing a pair of dark eyes under his sunglasses that were filled with morbid excitement.
"Did you think I wasn't fighting up close, because I couldn't keep up?" He asked, laughing.
Hadrian moved suddenly. The hand he used to block intertwined itself with Noah's, and then he pulled the Phantasm in and threw his own punch.
Noah dodged and jammed his knee into Hadrian's belly. The man caught the blow with his palm and pushed him off balance.
His fist dug into Noah's back without hesitation but Noah's backhand caught him across the jaw. They both danced for a hasty second as Noah watched the serpent returning in the distance.
Hadrian was a good fighter. He was crafty, fast and had good reflexes. But Noah was a bit better.
He absorbed blows and countered with devastating hits that almost knocked Hadrian on his ass. But the man was tough for a human.
Unconsciously, Noah began going all out. His fist flickered through the air in a sharp haymaker that would have taken Hadrian's head off.
But a mirror-like shield over Hadrian's head blocked his punch, absorbing the force in an unnatural way.
"Sorry I cheated," Hadrian chuckled, before hitting Noah in the chest.
He had taken all of Hadrian's blows easily before, but this one rippled through him with terrifying force. His body shot off the ground and slammed into a parked car with a metallic crunch.
He blinked as he came to and saw the sky had suddenly turned black. The green of the Liminal room was gone.
Did I escape?
But the world was still empty, and something about the light was off to him. All the streetlights were too white, and the shadows were too black.
It was like he jumped into a noir film.
Hadrian's footsteps roused Noah from his fading pain. He rolled off the car and saw the glass serpent looming over both of them like a line scratched into the grey sky, the countless red eyes covering its body glowing with hatred.
"What is this?" Noah muttered, waiting for Hadrian to come a bit closer.
"We're in the northern quadrant of the Liminal room," Hadrian muttered, walking forward dauntlessly. "Tezcatlipoca side."
Once he was close enough, Noah blew air from his mouth at Hadrian's face, making the hunter pause and sneer in disgust.
Noah's attempt to use his ice breath was fruitless, except of course pissing off Hadrian.
"You fucking roach, how dare you?" His venomous words were followed by a twisted smile. "We're in the north. This is the judgement block."
Hadrian pointed at him, and that sense of danger filled Noah once again. Something was going to happen.
And running away wasn't an option.
He shot forward, fist cutting through the air with murderous force. His flaming head twisted like ink in this black and white world.
Before his fist could tear through Hadrian's chest, the hunter said a single word.
"Die."
Noah's vision blurred; his momentum crumpled into his rolling over the floor in horrific pain. He clawed at his chest like there was a wild creature trapped in there. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
But Hadrian didn't seem too impressed. His smile fell.
"You're too strong for it to kill you," He muttered.
Noah managed to push past the pain and climb to his feet. Two times in the last week. He had never thought much of pain until he came to this world.
"Well, judgement has other benefits," Hadrian said, sighing. "Like I can take away one of your abilities. Unfortunately, you only seem to have [Detached body]; you haven't evolved yet. Best to kill you before then."
Detached body? Evolution? I'm missing something, he has more information about my powers than me.
Hadrian snapped his fingers, and Noah felt the power become locked away. Without even trying he knew that he couldn't become intangible.
The glass serpent moved immediately. Glass cracking filled the lonely world as it descended on Noah.