Chapter 6: Into the Void

  I was certain the attacker had struck from behind. Their approach had been calculated, entirely separate from the two newcomers we had already noticed. The lack of coordination between them confirmed that they weren’t allies. As my head reattached itself, I attempted to activate the metallic body ability, but nothing happened. So stolen powers are one-time use only. That left me with my body and senses enhancement ability, which I had wisely kept active, along with my original power.

  The group behind me was in shock. No one had seen the attacker. Invisible? I shifted my focus from sight to sound, straining to catch even the faintest noise. Footsteps—soft and calculated—circled me, growing louder with every passing second.

  Suddenly, Benjiro pointed into the seemingly empty space and shouted, “There! Someone’s there!”

  Got you. Lowering my center of gravity, I dashed toward the sound. My fist collided with something solid, sending the figure hurtling into a nearby rock. Their invisibility flickered and faded, revealing a hooded woman clutching a massive ax.

  Closing the distance, I grabbed her throat and lifted her off the ground. “Invisibility, huh? A clever power, but an assassin should use lighter weapons and move quietly.” My grip tightened as I added, “Unless that’s your curse.”

  She struggled but didn’t respond. Just as I was about to pull back her hood to see her face, a massive boulder came hurtling toward us. I released her and leapt back, avoiding the impact as the ground quaked beneath us.

  When the dust settled, two figures stood before us. The first was a towering mass of muscle, a living mountain. The second was a much younger man, calm and unnervingly composed.

  “Not bad,” the teenager said, his voice cold and analytical. “Are you the leader here?”

  The larger man interrupted with a booming laugh. “Doesn’t matter. We’ll crush you all like the others. We’re from the Lion Cub Organization. Join us, or die.”

  I met their gazes with a smirk. “Why would I follow someone weaker than me?”

  The giant scowled, his face twisting in rage. “You always make it hard.” His body began to expand grotesquely, muscles swelling until he loomed 120 meters tall. He grabbed a boulder the size of a house and hurled it toward us.

  I launched myself into the air, meeting the projectile mid-flight. With a single punch, I shattered it into debris. ""Being big is impressive, but size alone? It just makes you an easier target. True strength is knowing where to strike and when."" I taunted, flying toward his head. Spinning midair, I delivered a powerful kick to the side of his skull, sending tremors through the earth.

  Before I could follow up, Akira darted past me, his wings spread wide and his body augmented with gorilla-like strength. His punch to the giant’s chest created a shockwave that forced the massive foe to collapse slowly, his colossal frame leaning forward but not yet hitting the ground, his massive hand swinging out in a desperate counterattack.

  “How did you do that?” I asked, momentarily stunned.

  “Combination of animal traits,” Akira replied simply, his focus unbroken.

  The fight wasn’t over. As the giant fell, his massive form began to shrink slightly, reverting slowly to a smaller but still imposing size. Using the momentum of his collapse, he swung a massive hand toward us. I hesitated, reluctant to reveal more of my own ability, but the situation left me no choice. Activating my ghost-like power, my body turned intangible, and his attack passed through me harmlessly. Akira, however, wasn’t as fortunate. He transformed into a turtle, his shell absorbing the brunt of the hit, but the impact drove him deep into the ground. From a distance, I spotted him reverting to his tree form to recover, his injuries severe but not life-threatening.

  The teenager appeared in front of me, his expression cold, his eyes tightly shut. “The power of a ghost,” he muttered, his tone more curious than impressed. With his eyes still closed, he placed his hands on the ground, creating a black portal before disappearing. Seconds later, he reemerged behind me, his eyes remaining closed as his voice cut through the tension. “Blackhole: Instant Destruction.”

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  Expecting his attack to pass through me as before, I activated my ghost form, confident it would render me intangible. But this time, the effect failed. His power connected, and my surroundings shifted violently as I was pulled through a black void.

  The vast emptiness of space enveloped me, the infinite cold and silence pressing in. My surroundings confirmed it—he had teleported me into space to kill me. Below, the planet shimmered like a distant jewel, its beauty stark against the void. Teleportation. Clever, but not clever enough. In my ghost-like form, I didn’t need oxygen, and the freezing temperatures couldn’t touch me. Survival wasn’t a concern, but I had no time to marvel at the view.

  Around 500 kilometers? Let’s see how fast I can return. I willed my body forward, streaking toward the planet’s surface like a comet, the atmosphere igniting around me as I descended.

  Taki

  The battle began with a flash of movement. The woman lunged at him, her body a blur of agility and precision, her heightened senses guiding her every action. He closed his eyes and flung a black hole in her direction, but she twisted mid-air, defying gravity as if she could feel the movement of the air itself. Her enhanced perception allowed her to anticipate his moves, disappearing from his sight and reappearing behind him. As her strike neared, he smirked, his eyes still shut.

  "I knew you'd try that," he murmured. A black hole materialized behind him, forcing her to vanish again. This time, she reappeared in front of him, her fist colliding with his face before he could react. The impact sent him hurtling into a massive boulder, leaving a deep crack in the stone.

  For a moment, my eyes stayed fixed on the young man sprawled against the rock, blood dripping from his face. Then I noticed something else—the woman’s right hand was gone, vanished into nothingness.

  The young man staggered to his feet, fury etched across his battered face. "Blackhole: HumanX," he snarled, his voice trembling with both pain and power. Turning toward his ally, he barked, "Hey! Stop pretending to be dead and get up! I need your help!"

  From the ground, a gruff voice groaned, "I hate this job, man." The massive, muscular figure slowly rose, towering over both combatants as his form swelled to five times its original size.

  Undeterred by the loss of her arm, the woman sprinted toward the young man, her remaining hand clenched in determination, her heightened reflexes giving her an edge. But the towering giant stepped in her path, his enormous fists swinging with devastating force. She dodged his strikes with incredible precision, leaping high into the air before delivering a bone-shattering punch to his face. The giant staggered back, crashing into the earth, struggling to rise.

  But then it happened again. Her remaining hand disappeared, just as before.

  "Why do you think I teamed up with him?" the young man taunted, his voice cold. "With HumanX, anything that directly touches me—or those under my influence—is effectively removed from the fight, rendered unreachable and powerless. With his colossal strength, we could wipe out entire worlds."

  The woman stood before them, trembling from blood loss but refusing to falter. He approached her, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her effortlessly into the air. "Don’t be scared," he sneered. "Even though you’ll start as slaves, you might get promoted. And as far as I know, beautiful women get promoted faster than others." His grip tightened, mocking her resistance.

  As he prepared to end her life, the ground beneath them trembled violently. A deafening roar shattered the air, and the earth exploded. Emerging from the chaos was Akira, his form monstrous yet majestic—a humanoid white tiger with eyes blazing with fury. His roar sent shivers down my spine as he locked his gaze on the young man and his giant ally.

  The giant was still struggling to rise when Akira charged toward him, seemingly aiming to deliver a finishing blow. But the young man tightened his grip on the woman’s neck, shouting, "Don’t move, or I’ll kill her!"

  Akira hesitated just long enough to bait the young man. Shifting his focus from the woman to his fallen ally, the young man closed his eyes and began summoning a black hole beneath his feet to teleport toward the giant. That was the opening Akira needed.

  With blinding speed, Akira abandoned his charge on the giant and redirected himself toward the young man, whose eyes remained tightly shut as he initiated his escape. Before the teleportation could complete, Akira struck, his razor-sharp claws slashing across the young man’s side. The impact threw the young man out of his portal, leaving him sprawled on the ground, writhing in pain.

  The giant, regaining much of his strength, attempted a sneak attack on Akira. His massive fists swung with relentless force, but Akira dodged them effortlessly, not even bothering to look back. Frustrated, the giant grew larger still, his colossal body towering like a mountain as he tried to crush Akira under his weight. Yet every attempt failed. Akira’s focus remained unwavering as he advanced toward the fallen young man.

  The young man, his face pale with desperation, hurled black holes at Akira in a last-ditch effort. But Akira dodged each one, drawing ever closer. Raising his clawed hand for the final strike, Akira’s movements began to slow. Roots sprouted from his body, entwining around him until he froze mid-strike, transforming into a towering tree.

  The battlefield fell silent. The young man, gasping in terror, began to relax—only to be caught off guard by a sudden kick to his face. The woman, missing both her hands, had managed a desperate, unexpected attack with her foot. She could barely stand, her legs shaking under the strain, but a defiant grin played on her bloodied lips. "Welcome back, Cap..." she muttered weakly, collapsing immediately after.

  All eyes turned skyward. A figure floated effortlessly above us, his presence commanding and serene. It was Ray, unharmed and observing us from above.

  "Eight minutes and a half," he mused aloud. "Not bad. Tell me, what’s your name, woman?"

  Through labored breaths, she replied, "Maki. Zeying Maki."