The sand exploded beneath my foot as I accelerated, striking out with a sharp feint that I paired with a furious swipe, a roundhouse, and a 540 spin-kick. She avoided it all and retaliated, her legs a blinding fury I barely kept ahead of.
Several times, Inverse rattled from the force of her blows. Several times, she slipped into my blind spot and targeted vulnerable points—joints, tendons, vital spots, nerve clusters. Anything to tear me down.
I was so sure I was going to lose—until I stopped trying to keep up with her, simply bore the barrage, and then retaliated. Her sharpened fingers stabbed into my bloody midsection as I jabbed at her eye. She leaned just enough to dodge, but wasn't quick enough on the backstep, letting me score a mark across her cheek.
And that was the beginning of the end.
Inverse shattered beneath her next blow, flipping me over, but I toggled it back on before she could follow up with a flying kick. Vanishing my blades briefly, I snatched the assaulting leg, twisted, my leg snaking around hers as I spun. My dagger was already out and descending before we hit the floor. It blew through her calf muscle, and I ripped it out, eviscerating the leg.
Her second leg swept down, but I caught it with a waiting hand and Inverse, wrapping it up as I dismissed the dagger and stabbed into the knee of her other leg. That finally drew a scream out of her, and she exploded with an outpouring of curse energy that barely rattled Inverse.
I untangled from her, but not before slicing my knife along her femoral artery. Blood gushed out, and I spun, coming to a sudden stop, grinning.
The sorcerer lunged, accelerating at a fraction of her former speed. My leg rammed into her midsection, reversing her momentum. She folded into herself, coughing blood that stained her immaculate white shirt and clothes. I stalked toward her, each step a fresh hell.
Then, I let out a ragged breath that seemed to drain me of what little strength I had left.
I stumbled, my vision doubling.
It'd been easy to shove it aside with adrenaline and Venom pumping through me, but the neo-steroid was waning fast, and I'd lost a shit-ton of blood.
I needed healing yesterday, but I couldn't risk getting closer without Inverse, and in the state I was in, I doubted I could survive another scuffle.
Taking several steps back from her, I reluctantly left her to bleed out while I tried to patch myself up, dropping Inverse and activating Reverse Cursed Technique.
It thankfully worked, with the Venom draining out of my system, but I had another problem. I had less Curse Energy than I anticipated.
HP: 90/1400
CE: 210/1880
I could just about close the stomach wound, but not much else.
I'd barely gotten RCT going when something shifted above. I snapped Inverse on, but it was too late.
A massive blur crashed into me, opening up my stomach, neck, and shoulder before wheeling around and vanishing into the sky.
The force of the impact sent me spinning and flipping, barely clinging to consciousness. Before everything went dark, I caught a glimpse of what'd hit me just as it reappeared, enveloping the enemy sorcerer in its wings.
A massive bird.
I woke when a hand touched me.
I twisted, striking out with a dagger I instinctively summoned. A red-gloved hand caught the tip.
"Woah, kid. Slow down. You're safe."
I blinked, eyes rapidly acclimating. I was still in the desert, bundled in layers of bandages. I checked my status. I'd healed a bit, but I wasn't quite there yet. RCT would get me the rest of the way.
HP: 210/1500
CE: 700/2030
My status had also bulked up. A lot.
I was guessing it was partly from the damage of the fight and the Venom, but I had a feeling it was mostly the latter.
Class: Sorcerer – Level 16 (2nd Grade)
Titles: Touched by the Sparks of Black, Julius the Immortal
Techniques: Inverse Lv 5 → Lv 6
Health: 1290 /1500
Cursed Energy: 700 /2030
Stamina: 360 /1600
Stats:
STR: 124 +13 AGI: 147 +20 PER: 135 +3 VIT: 140 +10
END: 150 +10 CP: 188 +10
Skills:
Cursed Inventory Lv 7 → Lv 8
Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv 6 → Lv 7
Cursed Energy Manipulation Lv 6 → Lv 7
Cursed Energy Reinforcement Lv 5 → Lv 6
Stealth Lv 6
Curtain Lv 6 → Lv 7
Gun Mastery Lv 6
Acrobatics Lv 6
Swordsmanship Lv 6 → Lv 7
Binding Vow Lv 2 → Lv 4
Reversed Cursed Technique Lv 6 → Lv 7
Mace Mastery Lv 4
Hammer Mastery Lv 4
Staff Mastery Lv 4
Free Points: 8
I scanned the landscape. It was littered with blood spatter, broken weapons, and massive depressions in the sand. Flash was the only Leaguer on-site. He must've run ahead to help.
"I take it you heard my phone call," I said.
He winced. "You've had a hell of a night, haven't you?"
I checked my stomach, then activated RCT and finished up my internal injuries that my regeneration hadn't gotten to just yet.
"You didn't happen to see a dying woman fly off with a shadowy bird, did you?"
"Uh, no," Flash said.
I'd bet everything in my inventory that she somehow survived having her femoral artery slashed and being pumped full of poison. I should've pressed the attack.
I sighed.
"Something wrong?" he asked, striking a pose in his ridiculously bright outfit.
"I'll have to fight her again, and she'll be better prepared—probably bring friends. I'm not looking forward to that," I sighed, looking down at my ripped clothes. I needed to change, and I needed a bath. But more than both, I needed allies. "I need to see the Justice League."
I stood too quickly and stumbled, nearly tipping back into the sand. Flash caught me.
"Woah, woah. What you need is a trip to the hospital. It's a miracle you're alive at all."
"It's not," I grunted. "It's meta-genetics and skill, is what it is. And we're running out of time. They'll likely go after them—my family. They've already made the Cadmus connection."
"And Batman already thought of that," he said, surprising me a bit. "He's sent a team. You'll get the word as soon as we know. So, now, will you agree to the hospital?"
"As long as it's not some bullshit play to hold me prisoner."
Flash scoffed. "If we wanted to bring you in, we would've already. Tonight proved something Zatanna and even I didn't want to admit—the sorcerer threat is very real. And we might need you to stop it."
That caught me off guard, though I didn't believe a word out of his mouth.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd still like to meet on neutral grounds—with my family."
Flash made a noise through his nose. "I'll tell Batman."
Flash carried me to a local hospital in Austin and led me out to the rooftop when I was done healing.
He and the nurse had been fussing over me when I started pulling my bandages. Flash looked just as surprised as she did.
"Kid Flash told me all about your healing powers. They're the real deal, huh?"
"If I had my way, no one would know what I could do, but since I don't, I try to benefit from it," I shrugged. "I can heal most injuries, given time, as long as they're human. So next time you trip up and break a leg or something…"
"I'll give you a call," he grinned.
"I'll give you a you-didn't-let-me-die-in-a-desert discount."
Flash chuckled.
Only a handful of Leaguers waited for me at the rooftop.
Batman. His jet hovered behind him. Wonder Woman stood to his left. Zatanna to his right.
I raised a brow, then looked at Flash, who looked genuinely surprised.
"Can't say I'm shocked you've decided to box me in instead of actually hearing me out," I said.
"You're asking for much," Batman said. "We need guarantees there's no ulterior motive or side-deal you're working."
"As if you're not doing the same," I scoffed, then looked at Flash. "I bet the Justice League doesn't even know about this little ambush. And holding my family as leverage? That's a bit low—even for you, Batman."
"Enough," Wonder Woman snapped before the arguments could spiral. She pulled a golden lasso from her skirt.
"The Lasso of Truth compels all who touch it to tell no lies. It is the only way the League will work with you, considering your record—and your magic."
Read ahead on patreon.com/artandcreativewriting.