Whoosh!
Like a flash, a previously unseen force sped through the torn battlefield that was the Outway, at times too fast for even the naked eye to see. No, it wasn't a flash. That was someone else. This one was more like a blur, but all the same, faster than a speeding bullet. Dusks, Huns, and other servants of evil alike found themselves either fallen facefirst into the ground with enough power to knock them out on impact or suddenly flying through the air like they were suddenly hit by a raging truck.
I feel my wings have broken in your hands
I feel the words unspoken inside
And they pull you under
As this blur continued speeding through the Outway, easily bashing through each enemy grunt like an unstoppable force of nature, it passed by Alisha on its way, the girl still charging herself with protecting the wounded Ivar. Such a task was easier said than done however, as even with her skill, using her weapon was a job for two hands, and with all the dusks continuously threatening to surround her, she began to wonder if she would even be able to make it back in one piece.
"!" Alisha let out a gasp as more dusks surrounded her and Ivar, closing in on her faster than she'd be able to put Ivar down and make use of her spear, until...
Whoosh! Krakk! Thok!
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"Who...?" The girl blinked, eyes wide with surprise as she hadn't expected any help from anyone in the heat of battle, even with their numbers on the field alone. But lucky for her, the cavalry had arrived. It was just as well however, the blur didn't stop for any pleasantries, even if it would have been more polite to take a moment.
But he knew that for every second he wasted there might have been another Alisha and Ivar who wouldn't be able to make it. The cost of this battle alone was too much, to say nothing of this war that had gone on for far too long.
And I will give you anything you want
You are all I wanted
All my dreams are falling down
Crawlin' around and 'round and 'round
"Gaah!" Touma, on another part of the massive Outway, gasped as the commander suddenly appeared behind him and gave a powerful blow to send him off his feet. He really didn't think the man would so swiftly be able to move like that, and just for someone as small as him, but egg on his face. But now, he was about to pay the price for his complacency as Komaru and the glasses girl were soon to be struck by a ball of dark energy conjured up by him. His right hand would have been the perfect counter to it, but with him on the ground, he wouldn't have been able to reach it before it--!
Shhhzt!
"Gnngh...!" An unfamiliar male voice grunted audibly in pain. The blur had finally stopped, recklessly standing between the three and the ball of darkness headed straight for them. Maybe he himself had grown complacent as well with his own power, but the darkness was more powerful than the blur had expected, but if he'd given it even more than a second of thought, he would have realized it.
It was magic, after all. A weakness of his, and a certainly crippling one considering what kind of enemy they were up against, but even if he'd realized it beforehand, he would have done it all over again if it meant saving the teens from certain doom.
However, the teens making it out alive was still a big "if" as the darkness continued to push against him, like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. One would have to yield, but
he wasn't going to. He wouldn't ever yield, even if it meant the death of him. The darkness continued attempting to consume him, until...
Shhrr!
As a high-pitched squealing sound rang through the air, the ball of darkness suddenly dissipated. Touma had finally managed to take this opportunity to leap to his feet and use Imagine Breaker to dispel the magical darkness. Just as the blur had saved them, Touma opted to return the favor. The taller man let out a breath of relief, before looking to Touma and giving a nod of acknowledgement.
"Thanks," he said, patting off his red sleeves briefly.
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"Don't mention it," Touma shook his head briskly; thanks were never something he'd really accepted, and he wasn't going to start any time soon. Unbeknownst to both of the young men, that was something they had in common.
"I guess I should be thanking you too either way," He said, all the while attempting to regain his breath.
The taller man in red only gave a smile in response. A strangely earnest, genuine smile. A kind that Touma realized he'd never seen before. Then, the man shook his head.
"No, don't thank me. We're all a part of the same team!"
"R-Right," Touma said, scratching his head sheepishly.
"Who are you again?"
"Just a friend," the blur only responded briefly, before scanning his eyes across the battlefield for where to head next. And with a swift
fwoosh, he was gone again, off to his next venture.
...
"?!"
Edna couldn't even make a visible sound before it was too late. This was what she got for trying to be "nice," or at least her standards of it. Maybe it was the effect of Sorey and the others rubbing off on her, but no, she shouldn't blame others. It was her own cockiness that got her in this fiasco.
Now she was drowning. That was pretty annoying.
So surprised at Pyke's resistance to her spell that she couldn't even think to make another move before her enemy had thrown out his own counter, engulfing her and presumably Lindel in a prison of water. The seraph of earth could do nothing against an element like this, literally feeling out of her element. Fortunately for Edna, she was much more hardy than an actual little human girl, but that didn't mean the slashes from Pyke didn't hurt all the same. She struggled to hold her breath through it all, not entirely used to having to thrash around like this, but it was all she felt she could do, until...
SOMEBODY SAAAAAAAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE
LET YOUR WARM HANDS BREAK RIGHT THROUGH IT
SOMEBODY SAAAAAAAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Once Pyke's phantom had returned to his body, it was then that something unexpected happened. The blur appeared. With a powerful
boom ringing through the air, what felt like a mighty force crashed into Pyke with the intent of sending him flying several feet back, as though he had just been hit by a runaway car! With that, the blur rushed through the water, grabbing Edna and Lindel and valiantly pulling them out of the watery prison!
Edna, coughing out the water she'd swallowed, let out loud gasps as she struggled to look up at her supposed savior, a towering man of at least six feet. She said nothing; giving thanks wasn't her strong suit, and likewise, the blur wasn't looking for it. But in particular, Pyke's mad ramblings had garnered the attention of the blur, whose super-hearing enabled him to catch wind of the fight going on here.
"Who the...?!" Edna coughed up, unable to even finish her sentence. That was when the man spoke.
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"It's okay. I can take it from here," Clark Kent, born Kal-El of the planet Krypton and a victim of the tragedy known as Point Zero, valiantly said, eyeing Pyke intently. To Pyke directly, Clark spoke with an imposing air, yet also holding out a hand in a defensive gesture.
"You don't wanna do this. You're making a big mistake here!"
"Nngh... What do you think you're doing?! Trying to moralize him to death?!"
Clark said nothing to Edna's outburst. She wouldn't understand, but Clark did. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that Pyke wasn't in the right state of mind. Of course, he didn't know what the "right" state constituted, but the way the man spoke, it was clear he wasn't completely all there, like he was under some influence, and mind control or no, Clark was willing to bet the man was going to do something he'd regret. Then again, that might have just been him projecting; after all, even Clark himself wasn't infallible against such an influence, considering what had happened at Point Zero, but all the same, he had to put an end to this.
Shaking his head, Clark only kept speaking toward Pyke.
"Either way, this ends now. You can fight me, or you can fight whatever's inside your head! It's your choice, but you have a choice!"
I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT
JUST STAAAAAAAY, STAAAAAY
C'MOOOOOOOOON, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOUUUUUUU
@Ottonomous Ghost @Takumi @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Outway