novelraw Chapter 34: The Hunter and the Hunted
Chapter 34: The Hunter and the Hunted
We’d crafted a plan to take down Abdu before he could fight back, banking on the Squads awakened powers.
Billie’s hands weaved through the air, bending electromagnetic waves—visible light bowing effortlessly to his will. Bill-board’s fingers flickered, sculpting sound waves and shattering the silence with infrasonic rumbles. With a flicker of focus, Billie woved illusions across a 200-meter radius, a spectacle of shimmering energy.
I stood there, jaw tight, marveling at how they shaped the world beyond their own bodies—something my mind struggled to grasp.
The twins struck first, their powers flowing together with lethal grace. Billie’s light warped and twisted, painting the battlefield with the vivid blues of a restless sea. Bill-board’s sound surged in, drowning out reality with the roar of crashing waves.
The illusion pulsed with life, so real I could almost taste the salt.
Their mirage was our trap. While Abdu’s eyes darted through the false ocean, I’d slip in for the kill, my speed a literal silent blade. Billie conjured a mirror-like shimmer between us—Abdu wouldn’t hear my steps or see my shadow. My hyper visual sense cut through the deception, locking onto him like a hunter’s gaze. I was the only one who could do this.
A sharp breath, then I whispered to 2.0.
The Solid State activated.
My body ignited, muscles screaming as I hit sonic speed—the fastest I’d seen any Neogen reach without a special powers.
Those with lower speeds usually compensated with greater strength. After an awakening, however, an individual’s speed and strength would at least double, depending on the nature of their new special ability
I’d crunched the numbers: my momentum could cleave through somone as powerful as Abdu. Backing up hundreds of meters, I coiled, then launched—wind howling past, 2.0’s 2% boost crackling through me. My limits shattered; my bones rattled. I aimed for Abdu’s neck, sword flashing—until it met his skin and then unexpectedly, it exploded into shards.
A fist slammed into my gut, Abdu’s blow a thunderclap that crushed my insides and hurled me across the field.
The plan failed!
And so, Plan B kicked in. The captain dropped from the jet, a streak of determination against the sky, her energy blast primed. William charged beside her, his awakened strength a hundred times its peak—fist of steel incarnate. His speed lagged, but his power could anchor Abdu.
William hit the ground near Abdu, dust swirling. The twins’ illusion dissolved, revealing Abdu’s cold glare. William lunged to reduce the distance and hold Abdu tight, but crystalline spikes erupted from Abdu’s hands—sharp and relentless.
They didn’t pierce his skin, but the sheer force slammed William down. Abdu’s arm stretched, a gleaming crystal sword forming in his grip. He leveled it at the captain, a predator sizing up prey.
If his speed matched Victor’s, her blast wouldn’t touch him. I staggered, too far away to act.
Without wasting a second, Abdu lunged, blade slicing the air—only to clash against a red-hot sword wreathed in flames. Yukio stepped in, Sane at his flank, their arrival a burst of hope in the chaos.
Our plans both failed; now it was all-out war.
Yukio and Sane moved like a storm, blades singing in close combat. Yukio’s special ability allowed him to merge energy with his weapon, but he hadn’t yet mastered its intricacies.
Sane surged ahead, her sword a blur as she traded blows with Abdu. She was a whirlwind, three times faster than my peak, her pre-awakened speed now godlike. Strength and agility had bloomed with her awakening, but her true a mystery to everyone. The others muttered she was hiding it, but I saw the truth in her eyes—she didn’t know what slept within her.
The truth unraveled as the battle wore on. Abdu wasn’t fighting full-out—he toyed with her, his movements a blur, always a step ahead, like a cat swatting at a cornered mouse.
Then his grin vanished.
His strikes grew sharp, lethal, playtime replaced by purpose. That’s when the air shifted, thick and unsteady. A strange pulse radiated from Sane, and with every blow Abdu landed—every cut, every punch—a wave of agony surged outward. It didn’t just hit Abdu; it twisted the faces of everyone nearby, friend and foe alike.
Knees buckled, gasps tore from throats.
Abdu sprang back, his retreat a desperate lunge for survival.
“What the hell was that?” he snarled, staggering, his voice raw with fury and fear. “How are you doing this?”
The realization crashed over us like a tidal wave: Sane’s power was a double-edged blade, a threat to everyone in its reach. Even she didn’t grasp its limits—her wide, shaken eyes mirrored our own dread.
Abdu’s gaze narrowed, cold and unyielding.
“Alright,” he said, his voice a low growl, dripping with menace. “I’ll save you for last.”
His icy stare locked onto Captain Agatha. He was targeting her to fracture us, to rip apart our teamwork at its core. With a flick of his wrist, his crystal sword shimmered into existence, its edge glinting wickedly. He charged, a streak of deadly intent.
Dmitry roared into action, our powerhouse of raw strength. His awakened ability had transformed him—muscles bulged as he hefted a 1000kg hammer like it was nothing. He was yet to learn his ability of flight, but the power thrumming through him was undeniable. He slammed the hammer down, the ground splintering in jagged fissures.
The shockwave hurled Abdu off his feet, granting us a fleeting second to breathe, to think. But the odds were suffocating. I’d calculated Abdu’s speed—not as blinding as Victor’s, maybe 10% of his peak in the red Solid State, but still a nightmare.
Hope was draining from us, slipping away with every heartbeat.
Then Yukio darted forward, planting himself between Abdu and the captain.
“Agatha-chan!” he shouted, his voice slicing through the chaos, urgent and electric. “Hit me with all your energy! Now!”
We froze, caught between curiosity and terror. The captain’s energy blasts were a force of nature—focused rays of light that could halt even Abdu if he weren’t so damn fast.
“What’s your plan?” she snapped, her tone sharp with doubt. “This could kill you!”
“Trust me!” Yukio shot back, his eyes blazing with resolve. “Do it before he strikes!”
She exhaled hard and unleashed her power. A beam of searing light erupted from her hands, striking Yukio dead-on. He raised his sword, and the blade drank it in, glowing brighter, fiercer. The energy surged into him, his body trembling as veins lit up beneath his skin, pulsing with raw power.
We stared, breathless, as he became a living beacon.
Yukio turned to Abdu, his voice calm but unyielding. “This ends now.” Then, to me, softer but heavy with purpose: “Cipher-san, watashi no ani o o-sagashi kudasai.”
‘Find my brother?’ I didn’t even know he had one, but the weight in his words hit me—he was ready to trade his life to end this.
Abdu sensed it too, his instincts screaming. He pivoted, lunging at Yukio with murderous speed. But in a flash—faster than a heartbeat—Yukio moved. His sword became a streak of light, and before anyone could blink, its edge kissed Abdu’s throat.
The air crackled, thick with tension.
The hunter had become the hunted!
Yukio’s speed now rivaled Abdu’s, but his power burned hotter, sharper, a force too fierce to defy.
The battlefield stilled, every gaze riveted on them—one radiant with newfound might, the other teetering on the edge of oblivion.