Shan Shigetzu v. Samuel
Samuel wore two silver bracelets, one on each side of his wrist. In a serious magical duel, Shan was outmatched. However, his multiple weapons protected him against most magical attacks, ass long as Samuel didn’t execute anything too ridiculous.
Samuel threw jabs at Shan, disabling the man’s gravitational powers with the aid of his bracelets. The gravity manipulator dodged each one, landing a kick on Samuel’s stomach. Shan’s opponent stepped back, pounding the ground in frustration. The plane tilted left, forcing Samuel to readjust his footing. Shan floated in the air and summoned his sledgehammer. When the plane stabilized, Shan drove his weapon into Samuel’s stomach. Samuel bent downward, gasping for air. The gravity manipulator swung his right knee upward, striking the man’s forehead.
“You think you’re so good, don’t you?” Samuel wiped away blood from the side of his mouth.
Samuel slammed his two bracelets together, generating a large gust of wind that blew Shan toward the left side of the plane. The hero’s opponent grabbed the hero and hurled him into a nearby cannon. Shan’s back struck the metallic surface with a loud thud. Samuel inserted both of Shan’s hands into the left handrail and stomped on them multiple times. The gravity manipulator endured the pain, waiting for a chance to retaliate. When his enemy’s bracelets grew dim, Shan tripped Samuel and freed himself. The hero, able to utilize his powers again, trapped Samuel in the handrails.
“One minute. Still have enough time,” Shan recalled his earlier discussion with Kisai.
He stomped on the man’s kneecaps and punted him in the stomach. The handrails ripped out from their supports, sending Samuel overboard. Shan conjured a mace, turning around, anticipating an attack. Samuel’s fist slammed into the metal spikes and he shouted out in agony. Shan pushed his weapon forward, causing Samuel more pain.
“No, it’s not over!” Samuel screeched as his bracelets grew bright.
Samuel yanked his hand out of the mace, blood splattering onto the plane deck. His mangled hand returned to normal as if nothing occurred. Shan anticipated this, already on the offensive again. He wielded a baseball bat, aiming for the bracelets. Samuel attempted a sidestep but his knees failed him. He tripped, stumbling to the ground. Shan kicked him in the stomach again during his fall. Samuel struck the door leading downstairs, gasping for breath.
Shan dashed towards Samuel with a battering ram, striking his stomach. Samuel spat out blood upon impact, his eyes growing wide. The hero swung his bat downward, shattering both his opponent’s kneecaps.
“Had enough yet?” Shan questioned.
“Not even close. I’m just getting started,” Samuel answered.
Shan hopped back, sensing danger. Both of Samuel’s bracelets shattered and his eyes grew demented. An angel mask covered the upper half of his face and wings sprouted from his back. A holy light surrounded him and Samuel hovered in the air. The madness from his eyes vanished, replaced with a soft and determined look.
“The real fight begins now,” Samuel declared.
“Yo, I’m not seeing things, right?” Jacque asked.
“No, you’re not. That’s a f****** angel,” I answered.
Kisai and I disabled half of the cannons, still four more left. Samuel shot out a yellow beam of light from his finger at Shan. The gravity manipulator opened his umbrella, protecting himself from the magical attack. His weapon protected him for ten beams before disintegrating.
“Jacque, take over on this one,” I requested.
“What?” Jacque stared at me in confusion.
“Can’t have them setting off a cannon by accident!” I answered, pointing at my grimoire.
“I might f*** s*** up though,” Jacque said, grabbing a write cutter.
“Just follow my directions and you’ll be fine,” I assured him.
I barreled through the enemies around us. Placing my hand down on the ground, I reinforced the cannons. An enemy leaped onto my back, pointing a handgun at my head. I exchanged positions with them through Ichaival’s Swap skill. I hurled their firearm away and choked them out. They collapsed to the ground unconscious.
“Damn, so brutal,” Jacque commented when I returned.
“Yeah, maybe a bit too much,” I admitted.
Shan and Samuel fought in the air, exchanging kicks and punches. At least Samuel couldn’t spam his light beam attack in succession. Each one of their physical attacks mirrored each other, landing at the exact same time. They were stuck in a stalemate. I glanced around, noticing a shift in the atmosphere.
Shan Shigetzu v. Samuel (Angel Form)
The hero’s watch suddenly glowed. Samuel landed on the plane deck, his wings flapping. He pointed at Shan, negating his gravity powers. However, Shan remained in the air, unaffected. Samuel’s eyes narrowed, concerned by this new development.
“Jin, are the cannons offline?” Shan inquired.
“Yeah, do whatever you want with them,” Kisai answered.
Shan pointed his umbrella tip at Samuel’s wings and two cannons crashed into them. Shan’s enemy dropped to his knees, taken aback by the attack. The gravity manipulator dived downward, smashing his mace against Samuel’s wings. He bashed his weapon against them repeatedly before the wings unfurled, shooting out spiked feathers. The hero switched to his umbrella and the projectiles struck its surface, sticking there. Shan rolled toward Samuel, shooting the embedded feathers back at his opponent. The majority pierced Samuel’s knees while the rest were blown away by a weak flap of his wings. Shan shifted to a sledgehammer and drove the feathers deeper into his foe’s knees.
Samuel, despite his bad knees, lunged forward and knocked Shan to the ground. He punched the hero’s face and grabbed the cannon Shan hurled at him. The hero’s opponent held the cannon over Shan’s head, ready to smash it into the gravity manipulator’s face. Shan manipulated the gravity around Samuel’s hands and slithered away from danger. Samuel felt the weight of the cannon increase and dropped it. Shan leaped into the air, kicking Samuel’s wings. He grabbed the man’s left wing and yanked it backwards. The gravity manipulator smashed a cannon into Samuel’s wing and shattered it.
“How…. how?” Samuel shouted in frustration.
The plane nosedived, stabilizing after ten seconds. Samuel held onto a nearby railing, unable to fly with his broken wing. He grabbed Shan’s leg as the hero squashed his fingers. Samuel rammed his head into the gravity manipulator’s shin before lifting him upward. Samuel swung Shan around in a circle before tossing him into a cannon. Because of my magical circle, Shan was repelled back towards his opponent. Samuel connected with an uppercut to Shan’s jaw, stunning the hero. He then slugged Shan in the stomach before tossing him into a nearby wall. He grabbed Shan’s head with a huge grin.
“It’s a f****** comeback!” Samuel announced.
Shan escaped Samuel’s grasp, targeting his right wing. He landed one hit with a mace before his foe spun away. Samuel fired off a beam, knocking Shan’s weapon out of his hand. Shan looked over at the mace and the weapon flew right back into his possession. Samuel attempted a shoulder tackle, but Shan tripped him, punching the masked man’s face. The hero continued his assault, slamming his fist into Samuel’s right cheek six times. Shan swept Samuel’s leg and the angel fell face-first. The gravity manipulator smashed Samuel’s face into the plane deck ten times before stomping his neck.
Samuel turned over, spitting out blood. He sprung upward, clutching his stomach. Shan swung a high kick, but Samuel grabbed the man’s leg, flipping him over. Samuel tossed Shan near the edge, firing off a multitude of beams. Most struck the man, disabling his powers for a short period of time. The hero grabbed the ledge, barely holding on. Samuel stomped his hand, no mercy in his eyes. Shan gritted his teeth, refusing to let go. The masked man knelt, prying his foe’s fingers off. Shan summoned a martial arts pole in his left hand, tapping the plane’s side. Adjusting the positioning, he vaulted himself back onto the plane deck. Samuel stared at the man in shock.
“Shigetzu, finish him off!” Kisai informed him, pointing at the cannons.
Shan and Samuel punched each other back and forth. Shan intentionally led him towards one of the cannons, taking a hard punch to the face. With all the cannons disabled, my magical circles were no longer active. Shan ducked Samuel’s punch and threw him into a cannon. The gravity manipulator grabbed Samuel’s finger, jamming it into the exposed paneling. He kicked the masked man, positioning him in front of the cannon head. Twisting the man’s fingers, Shan jumped away as Samuel fired off rapid beams into the cannon interior. Samuel stared down in horror, struggling to escape his precarious predicament. He failed and sustained major damage from his own beams. Severe burns covered Samuel’s entire body and both his wings were mangled beyond recognition. Shan finished him off with a punt to the head, securing his victory.
Once Samuel lost, all remaining enemies departed our plane. Samuel’s wings vanished, and his angel mask shattered, pieces of it scattered around the plane deck. Shan, his face covered in bruises, sat down with a sigh of relief. Ichaival checked up on his friend while I recovered all the mask pieces. I’m sure Tess and the SIU would love to analyze this.
“Ksi, what’s the status of that incoming plane?” I inquired.
“It’s Commander Ion. No need to worry,” she answered.
I restrained Samuel in a magical circle and walked over to Shan. He was back on his feet and winced as Ichaival applied first-aid to him.
“How did you pull that off?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” he questioned, accepting a bag of ice from the false archer.
“The cannon,” I replied.
“Oh that. Ksi noticed in the schematics that someone could channel their magic through it. I figured out how he pulled off his beam attack. Might as well go for it, right?” Shan answered as Ichaival cleaned up his face wounds.
“Yeah. Good thing Ksi figured that out. It’s over, right?” I agreed, watching Commander Ion’s plane pull up next to ours.
Commander Ion, flanked by Lieutenant Anion and another woman, boarded our plane. Ten more of his men joined later, taking Samuel into custody. The military leader chatted with Shan and Ichaival, getting updated on the situation.
“A large plane? We’ll look into it but I doubt we’ll find anything. The SIU will handle that investigation,” Commander Ion decided, after hearing about the ship Mr. Go and Mr. Penta were on.
“I’ll head back and make my report. Good luck,” Kisai said, hopping into one of his ally’s planes.
Just what organization did Mr. Penta and Mr. Go belong to? That stylized “P” was one clue and so was the lapel. They weren’t shy about their affiliation, daring us to investigate them. Not a surprise considering their strength. Maybe Ace would know because of her relationship with the Traveler. Regardless, another thing to deal with, on top of the Traveler and Ace. Freaking great.
