NOVEL NEXT X1.7.4 - Showdown
Showdown
The city was in total anarchy. The rain cleared. The Sunflower stood tall in the middle of the plaza, as people ran in fear at the monstrous sight. Thousands of eyes had torn open out of nowhere, in all directions—staring—studying the situation.
"This is my only chance to get back to Eralay," the Sunflower thought to himself.
His breath was heavy, and his shoulders were rigid. There was a smell of molten metal in the air. People screamed as glass shattered, chaos erupting while looters ransacked homes and stores. Mr. Briteside stood with his arms folded across the plaza, levitating slightly above the ground—the man Roa had been looking for, all along. His black mantle fluttered in the smokey breeze with grace. He did not say a word. The grin on his mask seemed to say enough—mocking his opponent. Unlike the boy from Earth, he did not look worried at all, giving an air of confidence and control over the situation.
"I know you very well. A most unique—anomaly. You are at a great disadvantage. Give up now, before you make things worse for yourself," the Shadow said in a cold tone. "I know your moves, your tricks, I know your strategies, your—motivations. I have endless resources at my disposal, the full weight of the Order of the Worlds at my back. I just have to say the word—and it will be done," Mr. Briteside continued calmly, the boy tuning out all other noise as the enemy spoke.
"I don't care—where is Eralay?" the Sunflower shouted, causing the Shadow's head to jerk back slightly.
"You still don't recognize me, do you?" he chuckled after a pause.
"I asked you a question," he replied in a deliberate tone, simmering with restrained fury.
The eyes behind the mask grew wide open, like a deer's staring at an incoming car. The conversation was over. Roa blasted forward at incredible speed. He moved fast—faster than the Shadow expected. Unable to anticipate the first punch, the blow landed square unto the enemy's stomach, forcing a loud groan out of him.
"I'm going to beat the arrogance out of you—Briteside," said the Sunflower in his ear.
The hero's ensuing blows struck as fast as raindrops hitting the ground during a violent storm. The enemy snapped out of the shock of the initial strike, blocking every hit that followed, vanishing and reappearing a few meters away. His chest was heaving, as was the boy's. They stared at each other.
"Where is she?" Roa thundered with the force of a hurricane. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you!"
The enemy brushed the dust off of him and scoffed, "I must admit myself—surprised. You have always been annoyingly persistent, but I did not expect you to learn so much, in so little time." He flicked his mantle open. "Regardless, you are but a small fraction of your former self. This will still be easy."
The Sunflower used Whisper and Haste, disappearing, the Shadow's eyes scanning, looking for his movements, trying to catch a glimpse of his hidden aura.
"Got you."
Appearing behind him, the enemy pivoted his elbow, landing it with great force onto the hero's face, sending him flying and tumbling across the plaza. Before he could stand, Mr. Briteside materialized, hovering horizontally above him, his black cape eclipsing the faint daylight like a suffocating shroud. Roa's attention was drawn to the man's piercing eyes, concealed behind the mask's hauntingly cheerful smile.
"I'm going to make sure that your new life is going to be really uncomfortable when we erase you. How about we reset you as an impoverished minority in a racist society? How about an orphan in a poor country? Or a refugee of a brutal war? We have enough worlds at our disposal for me to find just the right place, something—perfect for you. I'll make you wish for death," the Shadow said in a cruel tone, abruptly blasting a powerful ray toward his opponent.
The Sunflower's feet slid on the pavement, vanishing again before the blast could hit him.
The Shadow laughed, "do you remember all those times your boss tortured you at work? 'Do this, do that. Not like this, not like that.' You ran like an obedient, little hamster on a wheel when he told you over and over that you weren't enough—remember that, Sunflower?" he morphed into a balding, middle-aged man in a suit. "I really enjoyed that."
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Roa reappeared, stopping his rapid movements, grinding the bottom of his shoes onto the ground.
"You were my old boss?" he said, his eyes narrowing as more anger filled his heart.
"I played the part, sometimes. We had some fun together all those years, didn't we?" the Shadow shapeshifted back to his true form.
"No wonder I never liked that guy," the boy scoffed. "He had the same stupid smirk you do."
"You failed at a simple accounting job, just like you failed at your revolt. You are destined for failure," taunted the masked man.
"I don't care, you faceless bastard."
"Want to know what happened at Black Fortia, right before we caught you, and your mind was erased? I'll tell you. Millions depended on you, waited for you. They put their hopes in your hands, Sunflower, and that was their mistake. They picked a loser to lead their ridiculous rebellion," he pointed up at the eyes many staring at them, "a futile revolt against the almighty, invincible, Lord of the Worlds. It is your fault your so called—free—society is now shattered."
"You should worry about the present moment, instead of talking about the past," the boy said, launching another attack.
The battle heated up. The Sunflower struck with relentless fury from every angle. At first, every blow was blocked, the enemy reading his every move, until finally, the hero managed to land a decisive punch on the mask with all his might. The Shadow stood up, shaking his head, trying to shrug off the pain.
"Funny—I thought that would take that ugly smirk off of your face, or wait—" Roa grinned, as his eyes narrowed, "do you even have a face? Or did you give that up too, to be a part of your—great and perfect order?"
Mr. Briteside pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped the dirt off of his pearly-white mask. He gently lowered himself unto the ground for the first time; his feet touched the floor.
"Look at what you forced me to do. Now I'm going to have to get serious," the enemy said, flicking his cape open in frustration.
"What's the matter—is the ground too filthy for you? You're the ones who turned it toxic. At the very least, you should get your shoes dirty—see what it feels like for the rest of us." The boy smirked and kicked some mud his way before his face turned serious again. "If you won't tell me where she is, then I will beat the truth out of you, you grinning fuck."
He lowered into a crouch, his hands raised in a fierce, ready stance, every muscle coiled for a swift and powerful strike.
"I will bury you. Only darkness awaits you and your wannabe rebels, Sunflower. Your punishment will be the stuff of nightmares. I will personally make sure of this," promised the Shadow. "You will be made examples of—all of you. The only thing that will remain will be the memories of your failures, and the futility of your efforts."
Roa wiped some blood off of his face, pointed at his adversary and replied, "you already tried to bury us—but you didn't know that we were seeds."
Briteside laughed out loud, ridiculing his words, he replied, "what kind of cliché nonsense—"
Before he could finish, however, the boy materialized in front of him, face to face, forcing the eyes behind the mask to widen, as they locked with the Sunflower's burning gaze. Roa swung a right hook with the force of a runaway train, smashing him to the floor, causing him to roll several times. The boy's fist glowed bright; his skin covered in golden tattoos once more. Mr. Briteside struggled to get back up, wobbling back and forth a few times, staring at the mud and dirt covering his clothes.
"How did you—"
"Learn to use the Brute Force Gift?" Roa raised his glowing, clenched fist, lighting up his own smile in the process. "I learned if from your kind."
"Nonsense—anomalies cannot learn the arts of the Lord's Shadows."
"Well—I did. If you don't believe me, I'll show you again." The boy paused, his brow furrowing. "I want to know where my girl is. Your fight is with me, not with her. She's got nothing to do with this."
Briteside laughed loudly again, and said, "you're a damn fool. Now more than ever."
The Shadow charged, his relentless attacks coming from every direction. The hero blocked each one, searching for an opening. With a swift turn of his body, he launched a powerful roundhouse kick, landing squarely on the enemy's face again. The Shadow crumpled to the floor once more.
"Looks like this might not be as easy as you thought it would be, huh?" Roa pointed his finger down at him. "You're going to have to take a trip to a laundromat soon. You're getting really dirty."
The hero did not wait for his adversary to stand, lunging on top of him, unleashing a fury of blows onto the masked man. Unable to dodge them, most landed, causing the enemy's aura to flicker like lightning. Mr. Briteside finally managed to hit the boy on the knee, collapsing his leg down, giving himself enough of an opening to escape.
"You're not getting away, you coward," Roa ran after him, but his opponent used Pan's Gift and took flight.
Noticing his adversary stuck to the ground, the Shadow let out a laugh and said, "Don't tell me you still haven't managed to channel your energy correctly enough to fly," he paused, "you're pathetic."
He pulled out the enchanted iron, pressing the 'mist' button repeatedly. In an instant, his body was yanked into the air, hurtling after the enemy. Surprised, Briteside's body jerked, quickly pivoting and soaring away. They sped through the toxic haze and the billowing smoke of Grayshroud, darting between the gloomy, towering buildings of the city. The giant eyes followed them, opening in the skies above, appearing on buildings and the streets, their pupils focusing on their every move.