(Libertatem 1, 59 / 5:36AM)

Light glowed all around the darkened corners that drowned for the heap of light.

Air as sharp as samurai blades, friction as dense as lightning. All around the two strongest fighters were nothing but the crusted air that was circling all around the room.

Pushing her heels off the ground, Gwen arched her hand back as she pinned her eyes on the flailing old man with light green hair. As his body soared in the dusted air, his back slammed on the stone pillar that held the building, the stone already seeming to break apart from the impact.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) Not bad.

His cheek was bruised but not bleeding. He focused his eyes on the incoming light that was hurdling at him. With his back smudged on the stone, he used his shoulder blades that were stuck to pop out, making a loud crack as his old joints popped out of place.

Having both of his feet on the ground, the floor beneath him soon thundered as the wind glided away the decade-old dust. Creating a mini dust storm with just the push of his feet, he arched his entire body backward so that the punch from Gwen wouldn’t pelt him.

(Lazaros) Is that all you got?!

Pushing herself off the stone cement again, she then twirled around repeatedly as the wind around her became as sharp as obsidian. Unable to even motion the twirl with his old eyes, Lazaros continued to sprint and jump backward to avoid the deafening punches from Gwen.

Moving around all over the room, a bead of sweat trickled down from the corner of his left eye.

Analyzing her with his own eyes, he barely dodged each punch and thrust as he took in the sight of her eloquent punches. With one of the punches sliding off the tip of his nose, his hands and arms that were motionless to his sides, soon extended upward in an instant.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) How’s this?

Gwen immediately pushed herself back many feet away from him, her boots creating a chain of sparkles that lit the ground with friction. Her boots still clinging onto the stone beneath her feet, she extended both of her arms outward as she showcased the outlines of her callused hands.

Light emitting from the ends of her hands, two light whips formed with the snap of a finger. Having a death grip on the light whips, she crouched downward as she readied her stance, the ends of her whips touching the ground.

And with a simple thrust of her heels, she yet again charged forth. This time, one of the whips managed to strike right where his left hand was, his eyes not even able to configure the speed at which it was drawn.

Pulling his left hand toward his body, he grits his molars shut as he soon glared at her, his light green eyes making their rays of light. Motioning his head upward, he noticed the window that was on top of the ceiling, the only way to reach the surface without taking the stairs.

(Lazaros) How about we take this upstairs!

He used his right foot to launch himself upward.

He barreled the air like a turbulent bullet, his white robe unable to ripple as the wind was too much for his fabric to handle. Looking upward toward the ceiling, he extended his right arm high in the air, making a curled-up fist.

(Gwen) Get over here!

Following him through the ceiling, her clothes couldn’t ripple through the crusted air that was too slow for the glowing woman.

Having her hands down toward her thighs, the only thing that pierced the wind was her light whips, the ends of them whistling like a freight train.

Finally, the old man’s knuckles made contact with the glass, the thousands of shards that were contained inside of that small window plastered all around his body. Yet even when the shards rained down lethal pieces of glass that could cut anything, not a scratch was formed on his skin.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) Just hope that I don’t overdue—

Good luck or bad luck, no matter what outcome was good in the end, Lazaros not only got through the glass window that lurked on the first floor of the ground…

He also passed through many floors above the first floor.

His right fist soon reddened from the metal and stone that he inflicted upon his knuckles, he clenched his eyes shut as bits of metal got into his robe. Going through each floor, the stone was mere paper for him as he remained in a Superman position.

Many floors later, his body came into contact with the bristling morning air, his eyes opening up again as he saw the status of the city in full display. Seeing his trump card still alive, the sky above him in a reddish state, and the darkened city surrounded in darkness, the only thing he could do was smile.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) Oh, Lagefor…

But there was one person who could put an end to this.

As his eyes were drawn toward the beautiful sight, he failed to take note of a glowing light that was behind him.

(Lazaros) Oh shoot—

Gwen then pulled Lazaros straight toward her, his body being thrown as both were midair. Reaching the climax of their height, both soon started to fall onto the ground beneath them. Gwen holstered her left whip onto her left hip, and with her left hand, she curled it into a deadly left fist.

For her thrusting punch aimed right at his left cheek.

And with a simple blow, he flew to the right.

As the air was finally rippling against the ends of his white robe, he sliced the air with just the bare bones of his body, his ears being hammered by the gusting winds at lightning speed. Not soon after, his entire body slammed onto the blackened asphalt, the location being around the southern area of downtown.

Which was dozens of miles from where the Zirardge tower was located.

Dust surrounded his entire being, and a cloud of it darkened his vision. Deciding not to move his arms and legs, he glanced to the left and right of him to see the hole that he created with just his body.

Cracks and splinters riddled in the gushed hole, Lazaros arched his body upward as his head was barely on the level of the street. Seeing the street filled with stone debris and litter, he let out a sigh, followed by a simple smile.

(Lazaros) Reminds me of six years ago.

Another crash came from the back of him, wiping away the dust cloud that circled his entire hole.

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Arching his head back, his entire world became upside down with the top of his head stabilizing his body.

In front of him, Gwen had both of her hands and knees on the asphalt, drool coming out from the corners of her lips as they then littered the debris-ridden street. Her face continued to glare at the old man who lay motionless, she slowly stood herself up as she dug her heels into the cement.

Her chest breathing heavily, her heart on the verge of exploding from out of her chest, she walked steadily toward him.

(Gwen) I’m … pants … not finished … gasps … with you yet.

(Lazaros) Can’t we just take a break? I’m too old for this, hell, my back is stabbing my spine relentlessly.

(Gwen) Does … gasps … it look like I care?

Towering over the laid-back old man, she curled her hands again as she motioned her head downward onto him.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Gwen clicked her tongue while gathering her breath. Her glowing body flickered violently, and the light that came out of her soon started to fade, her eyes widening as she glanced at her clothing.

(Gwen’s thoughts) What…? What’s going on?

(Lazaros) I guess you could say that you outdid yourself.

Lazaros soon brought himself up, placing both of his hands and his knees to get himself up from the hole. He brushed the dust and grime off his hands.

(Lazaros) You even got some mud on my robe.

He patted his clothing repeatedly as he looked for any spots with dirt.

(Lazaros) That should get rid of most of the dirt. Now back to what I was saying.

Gwen extended her right hand forward, her fingers spread out as her palms showcased her calluses blisters. Her head down, she darkened her face under the reddish sky that turned more ghastly by the second.

(Gwen) There’s no time for talk.

Lazaros put out both of his hands forward, raising them high in the air. Letting out a sly smile, a bead of sweat rolled down from his right temple.

Returning his irises toward the steaming, yet slowly light-fading Gwen, Lazaros inhaled and exhaled out in a split second.

(Lazaros) Then there’s time for a show.

Gwen’s nostrils wrinkled under a foul odor coming from behind.

Turning her entire body 180 degrees, her eyes pinned upon the zompire that grudgingly walked toward her, the undead’s hands flailing around as its mouth was wide open. With the light that flickers on and off that glowed her clothes and skin, that little switch that went back and forth…

Shut off.

Her glow finally faded away into the reddish darkened morning sky, no light bestowed upon the dying star. She remained frozen by the zompire that trickled stones and sticks upon its feet.

(Lazaros) Do you recognize that zompire? He’s someone that you’re close to …

The zompire had black hair. Its face was ghostly pale and was missing its nose and ears. Gwen noticed a feature that the zompire had on both of its chiseled cheekbones.

(Gwen) Freckles…

Gwen’s voice was but a whisper.

Her vocals rested against one another, forming a small blanket to halt the words from coming out of her windpipe.

(Lazaros) Family reunion yay...

He put his hands into his sleeves, tilting his head upward as his eyes peered down at her. Having both the crevices of his lips curling upward to form a sly smile, he let out a small chuckle.

(Lazaros) So, what do you think? Pretty similar to the real thing, no?

Gwen immediately turned her entire body toward the old man.

(Lazaros) Hellooo? Terra to G—

He was then blasted away, gliding through the putrid air.

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Buildings came crashing down as Lazaros sped through the stone and wood like it was cardboard.

His arms and legs flailed outward as he struggled to move from the force of the blast.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) Time to get serious now…

Smashing through the last building with his dented back, he put both of his feet onto the asphalt that laid bare. His sandals smoking from the friction and speed that he was still conceiving, he brought his right hand toward the center of his face.

Having his finger on the metal of his glasses, he put them on the collar of his robe.

And out of the last building was none other than a woman with a darkened face, her facial expression hidden away by the loosened ponytail that led her hair to be down. Having her arms thrust backward, her body can be perfectly described as being aerodynamic as possible, her entire gliding stance mimicking that of a peregrine falcon.

(Lazaros) Are you using—-oh boy…

Both of Gwen's hands wielded heavy glowing chains that mimicked that of normal metal ones, with the metal reaching the length of about two stories.

Thrusting both of her chains out in front of her, the ends of them twisted and twirled until they reached the end of their target.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) She’s slower, but I got to end this soon.

Using his left heel, he pushed the stalling air as he stiffened his body to become one with the wind.

A loud boom of air cracking the oxygen needed to breathe, his breath soon drew weary and slow, followed by his lungs punching and turning his chest. With the air of the chains managing to whip the insulated air, it allowed a sonic boom to assault his eardrums.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) Yeah, I really need to end this soon!

He focused his old shallow eyes all across the little battlefield that they welded together. Peering through every corner and cranny of the many buildings that were several stories high, one building in particular caught Lazaros’s interest.

It was the tallest building in the city, but he put the tower in the back of his mind as his eyes returned to the disturbed wind from the corner of his right eye.

Resuming his dodging, he only amplified his speed to the max. Pushing him farther and farther away from the building where he emerged from, the only direction that he could think of was due north.

As the cold blowing wind struck the back of his head.

(Lazaros) Here you go!

From out of his sleeves, he pulled out both of his hands that crinkled under the cold morning air that stiffened his joints. His hands gripping two pieces of metal that seemed unworldly and bizarre to the human eye, he showcased them onto the raging Gwen who had her hair blocking her eyes.

Soon after, he threw them toward her.

As if it was encapsulated with something, the two metals that seemed to mimic a handmade grenade soon erupted in the air around its vicinity. And since the explosion of both metals managed to make contact with Gwen’s jacket and face, the last thing that Lazaros saw was her face being caught in the lethal explosion.

The air itself burst wide open, the light of the boom causing Lazaros to swift his head away as his irises burnt from the light.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) I hope that’s enough to get her.

Unfortunately, the smoke that soon formed afterward was swept away by a long heavy light chain.

The tip of the metal weapon barreling its way onto the widened old man, there was a brief moment where Gwen’s bangs of hair managed to unfold. Squinting his slow and moving eyes at her, he caught a whiff of a sight that managed to stick his words inside of his throat.

In that little sight that he saw, was none other than anger incarnate, her face plastered in a burning crimson red.

Her eyes bloodshot, her forehead, temples, cheekbones, bits of her neck; all were riddled with blood-gurgling veins that sprouted out from underneath her skin.

And with her teeth chipping away from the skin-tearing grip that she had on all fronts and ends, a tsunami of drool decorated the corners of her lips, chin, and mouth. Slowly opening up her mouth, the words that were held back for who knows how long finally emerged from her convulsing throat.

(Gwen) AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Releasing both of her chained-like weapons again at the jumping-back old man, she swung them back and forth as the metal slammed onto random buildings that were in the way.

Most of the highly structured buildings were crumbled by the pressure of just her strength alone, her eyes all too focused on the dodging old man who did his ballad on the blackened street.

(Gwen) AAAAAAAAHH!!!

Her metal chains started to itch closer and closer toward the old man, dragging both of the chains on the ground lit up the asphalt.

Accumulating an excessive amount of inertia inside of the chains, she then thrust both of them onward, the ends twitching by the time she already launched them. As the chains slithered like an aggressive snake aiming for its prey, she used whatever muscles were asleep to use them to her maximum potential.

Which made it her last and desperate push, a finishing blow destined for a foe on equal terms as her.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) She’s going to put all points on that…

Barely able to see it, he saw the two chains in slow motion as they traversed the air that was whipped upon.

And in slow motion, he motioned his entire body so that he was beneath the chains that glided across his unholy body. Seeing the chains barely grazing the tip of his nose, his feet that were close toward the lunging Gwen didn’t push forward, but—

Pulled himself toward her.

Moving his entire body closer than farther, caused both of his hands and arms to be whiplashed by the sudden movement. But even then, it wouldn’t be a disadvantage to him anyhow.

(Lazaros) Dumb move.

Gwen froze.

She slowly tilted her head toward the area where she felt the warm liquid traverse out of her body. Blood nestled along the simple pavement down below as she took note of the—

Fist that was lodged inside her lower abdomen.

Quickly coughing out blood that belonged to her intestines, she couldn’t wipe away the reddish and slightly brownish liquid that traced down to her neck. Her hands still wrapping both of the long glowing chains, the light that shone from her weapons soon faded away, her weapons being withdrawn as they turned to air.

(Lazaros) You know, when a human gets turned into a zompire, do they truly die?

Her hearing was still audible enough to hear the cold words from his mouth, Gwen continued to glare at the smug face that encapsulated it in her eyes.

The hunger and thirst that began to dawn on her started to fade away like the fresh leaves at the beginning of autumn, her body trembling under the unfelt pain.

(Lazaros) Well, if you want my sadistic opinion, I think that zompires don’t go to heaven at all. If you think it through, all of the corpses that they originated from were all human, and if they somewhat act human, then doesn’t that mean it’s the same soul but corrupted?

Blood continued to pour forth from out of her quivering lips, her entire face soon began to turn a deathly white.

Unable to even dig her teeth against each other, the lack of strength before and after her wound was ever-present. Drawing her right hand alone, it trembled under the animosity and pressure as she barely got it to reach the large open hole.

Intestines, blood, shit; her entire abdomen was open for the world to see.

(Lazaros) If their soul is corrupted or trapped within a zompire’s body, then doesn’t that mean the said person doesn’t go to heaven or hell?

Covering her open wound, her right hand tried to mimic the action of her scratching her lower stomach. Her fingers not clinging onto a skin that would normally be there, she then slowly brought up her left hand as well.

She dropped down onto her knees.

Her mouth opened, more blood poured as the warm liquid burned her soft and sensitive esophagus, the contents of her body mingling inside of her teeth and gums. Lazaros took a step back as he wiped away the bits of intestines that were covered with his right hand.

(Lazaros) Reminds me of a person having no mouth but they must scream. Or having no eyes but they must see the light. Either way, you get the picture.

Using his left hand, Lazaros pulled out a small box of hand sanitizer from inside of his white robe, the small box see-through. Putting on 1/4th of the liquid contents onto his right hand, he put the little box inside of his robe as he scrubbed his hands repeatedly.

Bits of sanitization stinging the ground and as well as his bare feet, the old man turned around to look at the west.

(Lazaros) I’ve done my part. Doesn’t matter if Sidney wins or loses, but it will take a miracle for you guys to defeat her, now that you’re reduced to a mere dying woman.

Placing both of his hands into his sleeves, he then walked away from the dying Gwen, her forehead slouching on top of the black asphalt that welcomed her with open arms.

Both of her hands cradled the air that used to be her stomach, more intestines and blood spurred out from the depths of her insides. Painting the street with a reddish yet slightly brownish color, the smell that radiated from her decaying lower body wrinkled her button nose.

(Gwen’s thoughts) Luke…

Glancing at the tallest building in the city, she continued to look up at the edge of the building. Not bothering to push her feet up, or move her bloodied hand that dripped with her insides, her mouth opened as blood trickled from the left corner of her lip.

As she let out a single tear from her right eye.

.

(Gwen’s thoughts) Please help me...