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Fishbowl [A Superpower Fantasy]
Chapter 28: Ice Cold, Part 2

Chapter 28: Ice Cold, Part 2

Void hyperventilated as he sporadically moved his hands, decimating everyone, including the guards. No one was safe. Everyone was in a flurry of disarray, from the screams of children to the wasted efforts of fathers and mothers trying to evacuate their families, though it was all fruitless since they ended up severed in half. Even if they avoided death by a miracle, those "fortunate" enough would be alive to see their dead family members, simply left to hold them in their hands as they, too, waited for the same fate.

Living things aren't complicated; Void understood that. He didn't cause such a scene on purpose, but a tiny part of him didn't want to end it.

"Stop, stop, stop," a child said, slamming her tiny fists against Void's knees. "Stop!"

Void lowered his head, looking at her and smiling. He patted her on the head, but his beam blew her up, and her blood splattered onto his clothes. His eyes and hair dimmed into a dark black.

Guards tried heading toward the commotion, but the crowd ran into them, blocking them from effectively getting to the problem, and the ones that got close enough were obliterated in an instant.

Void stared at his hands, the rays hitting his own face. He gripped his hands and closed his eyes, the purple beams stopping. Breathing in and out, he tried concentrating, but he couldn't. His fear turned into anger… And the anger rotted into confusion.

The beams stopped, but this allowed the guards and others to interfere. A black noir blade smacked Void in the back of the head, which was quickly followed up with a punch to his face. He fell to the floor as the person who hit him stood over him. He watched as the chief looked down at him as she shook her head and stepped back.

She knew her eyes had to be deceiving her because that was the only possibility. But how? Surely, the man she killed wasn't in front of her, is what she wanted to think, but her thoughts didn't matter. The fact was, that man was in front of her.

Void stood up, his head cracked in half. Two pieces of his scalp — one to the left and the other to the right — pointed up and resembled horns. Both his lips were split in half, pointing at opposite ends. A cold darkness shrouded him.

The chief blinked, her eyes not believing what she witnessed. They refused. She saw a blackened man with two horns on his scalp and four protruding out of his mouth. She saw the devil.

The fish twins ran towards the back of Void and held hands as one excreted oil while the other lit it. Their powers formed a fiery tornado towards Void.

All Void did was clap. He clapped like a boyfriend cheering for his girlfriend's soccer game; it seemed fake, but at the same time, he didn't stop. His sheer force blew the fire, reverting it and causing it to envelop the twins instead. They screamed as their own creation destroyed them, and soon the oil and fire leaked onto other dead bodies, causing a mass blaze.

The chief huffed and puffed, the smell of burned bodies causing her nausea as she struggled to stand. She watched the devil approach her, walking towards her as twenty feet of flames were behind him from the burning bodies, but then he stopped once he was a few inches away, giving a sinister smile with his teeth showing. She snapped out of it, grabbing her blade and screaming as she swung her enormous weapon at the black devil's throat, cutting into his throat, but before it got deep, he pounded his foot on the ground, launching himself back.

The ground exploded. The chief flung back, but she grabbed her blade with both hands and poked it into the ground, shortening her distance as she remained standing. She leaned against the handle for support as she looked around, trying to see where the devilish man was, but he wasn't in front of her. Or anywhere in the distance. Her eyes widened as she felt cold air near the back of her neck.

Void huffed and puffed, his cold, almost wet breaths blowing onto the chief.

She gulped and screamed as she turned around, flinging her blade behind, but the devil wasn't there. She could feel the back of her hair being caressed, gentle yet disturbing touches. Clenching her teeth, she turned around, but again, nothing. The area was desolated with dead bodies or running protestors in the distance, so there was no way that she could miss seeing Void. Or that's what she hoped.

Almost immediately, her vision was obscured into pitch dark as a hand covered it, and not even seconds later, the force of a fist bashed into her stomach, plunging her hundreds of feet and into the gate that protected the palace. She broke through the barrier and into the palace's garden, and surprisingly, still holding onto her blade. The man freed his hands from her face, allowing her to look down at the devil that grabbed her by the neck. She smacked her weapon against him.

The blade didn't affect him.

She was let go and fell onto the palace's pristine grass, her blade in front of her as she continued to hold on to it. She looked up at the man, not sure what to do, but luckily for her, around forty guards arrived at the scene. They all circled around the devilish being.

Void fixed his lips by pressing them into place with his hand and letting them heal. He did the same with his head. He pointed to his own eye as he looked at the chief. "Watch… me."

More guards rushed to the scene. Some shot while others ran to help the chief. But it was all for nothing. Void placed his finger in front of his lips and shushed everyone. From his mouth, a line of purple energy flew through the air, waving like entertainers performing the dragon dance during the Chinese new year. It waved like a dragon gliding against the sky as it soared. The purple beam zoomed through a guard's ears, making it out the other end and into another guard. Soon they were all dead.

Void bobbed his head up and down, pointing to the woman that showed him fear. He smiled.

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The chief stood up, her blade to her right. She swung it to the left, slamming into Void.

He eyed the weapon as it neared him, but he grabbed it with two fingers. The thing that prevented him from using his power, he now held.

"How…"

He pressed his fingers into the blade, shattering it into hundreds of pieces, and he forced the chief to kneel on the floor. He grabbed the chief's hair, his eyes shifting towards the sky as he stared at it. "The Void has different energy levels, doesn't it? Whatever your toy is made out of, it simply cannot handle me. I'm better, stronger, greater than you'll ever dream," he said, pausing and clenching his teeth. "The fact that I even have to explain…" He shook his head, breathing from his nose. "I'll show you."

The chief clawed at Void's hands, trying to free herself. She dug her nails into his skin, but it was of no use. She screamed for help.

"Do you like joy rides?" Void looked down at her and smiled, letting go of her hair. He kicked her in the face, pushing her to lie on the floor. He walked towards her leg and grabbed it, tightening his grip around it as he ran in the opposite direction of the palace. He sped through the city, everything unfolding in slow motion. The other citizens almost seemed frozen as they did their daily tasks: shopping, driving, playing in the park, and whatever zoo animals do.

The chief was dragged against the ground, from grass to rough concrete, her body was trashed wherever Void took her, and by the time he stopped, her body was so utterly rubbed against that she was far from being just dead. It was far worse; it was a feeling only those that got carpet burn would know.

He halted at a nearby Preschool in front of children playing on the swings and screaming in joy as they rode on their play set. Without even thinking of those around him, he kicked the chief, flipping her over. Her body was predominantly composed of red liquid and bits of flesh scattered about with visible bones showing — her skeletal structure was the only thing keeping her from appearing like the once living being she was.

"Who… who… who…" a supervisor teacher said, pointing to Void.

He looked at her and then at the dead chief. He shrugged and speeded away, running into the teacher and exploding her as he headed back to the palace. It wouldn't take him long.

Back in the palace, Elli stabbed Arthur in the other collarbone. She stared at him in joy as her smile widened, and she nodded as she signaled for the maids to grab him.

One maid grabbed Arthur, placing his right arm around their neck for support, while another positioned the fish's left arm around themselves, and they walked with him to Elli, facing the crowd. The gathering all watched a man bleeding from both sides of his neck.

Elli grabbed the microphone, putting it next to Arthur's lips as she glared at him, ever so steadily waiting for him to speak. Her "patience" was visibly gone as she scanned her sacrifice and then the crowd, her gaze moving sporadically back and forth. She finally focused when she saw his lips thrust up.

"I murdered the king by shoving my fingers into his neck. It was me. I ruthlessly pressed them into his skin despite the hot liquid warming my finger and telling me to stop; stop. Though I only stopped when I felt my hand reach the bone. People of Atlantis, I am your king's murderer."

"And you will pay," Elli said, handing the microphone to a maid. She rubbed Arthur's neck, feeling his Adam's apple and slightly squishing it, but she stopped and continued feeling his entire neck. "Arthur Penfish will suffer the same fate my dear father had to endure. For my father, I will become king."

Arthur stared at Elli. When one knows death is the only option, they tend to close their eyes to hide from that reality. But Arthur faced such a reality before. His eyes were wide open, and no fear emanated from him because he was a man who already knew what death tasted like.

Elli slowly pressed her hand into his neck, her nails cutting into his skin. She took her time. She tried to hide the fact she enjoyed every second of it — down to the smallest detail, but her smile widened, her eyes closing as she pressed forward. Her finger spasmed in satisfaction as she dug deeper.

Her replacement was ruined as the banquet's door abruptly opened, and a bloodied guard with no arms ran like a penguin. "We have an intruder!" He barely managed to walk, too much of his blood leaked.

"What?" Elli asked, her eyes narrowed at the man, anger written on her face. Her eyebrows lowered. "Where-"

No one could see as the building ruptured, pieces of wood flying everywhere as Void slammed into the building and ran into the banquet hall, and as he did, he sprinted into a table, and the individuals sitting there flew back, becoming injured or they died. He stood like a hollow vessel, staring at Elli, a few feet away from her. He simply stood.

Elli blinked. She wasn't sure what happened. She shook her head, grabbing her trident and approaching the new intruder, and the guards that managed to survive also followed suit, approaching the man. The guards sprinted, their armor clanking as they did.

Void drooled, the spit dripping onto the floor. He bobbed his head as if he were about to sleep. His powers were exhausting him. He clenched his teeth and opened his eyes, running into all the guards. He saw Arthur and a female next to him, but he wasn't sure if he should kill her, though he concluded: what's the harm, but as he ran to her, he lost control of his body, flopping to the floor and near her feet.

Everything happened so fast, but once Void fell, Zoork and Vanilla realized their teammate was still alive. They ran to Elli as she plunged her trident into a hollow Void.

Arthur grabbed Elli's arm, preventing her from doing so. He tried to speak his best as he gripped harder. "You said that they wouldn't be harmed."

Elli turned her head and faced Arthur. She towered over him as she stared at him, clenching her facial muscles, but she shook her head and pointed to the surroundings. "Do you really think I care anymore?" She turned back, breaking free from Arthur's force, and plunged her trident into the floor, but Void was no longer there.

He was being ushered out of the area; Zoork and Vanilla held him around their shoulders as they ran.

Elli laughed, placing her palm over her face as she looked at the remaining table and then at the royalty and affluent figures. "If you want to survive, grab them!"

While she talked, Arthur jumped onto her back and placed his hands over her face. He used his Tuam to create waves and release them into her face.

Elli screamed, punching her left hand on the back of his head.

He fell to the ground.

Elli's face was partially burned. However, it wasn't as terrible as it was for others that faced the waves. She breathed from her nose as she gripped her trident.

Arthur stood in front of her, not scared. If this world was one where people with powers were horrible, then he knew he had to fill in the role of killing them. Not for others. But for himself. He got into position, placing his palms at Elli, who charged at him. Though he was injured and was willing to die a few seconds ago, the circumstances had changed. If there was no one to help, he knew he would be his own hero.

Elli gritted her teeth, gliding her trident at Arthur's face. As she did, her pupils moved sporadically, scanning all of his actions.

Arthur threw a wave at her as the blade approached him, and he ducked as he did.

The weapon penetrated his face, piercing through his head. It was too fast.

Elli ripped out her trident by yanking it back. Arthur fell to the floor — a loud plop echoed in the room. She stood over the man, who had a wide hole in what used to be his face, but her irritation grew as she stared at the "pseudo-hero," who leaked blood onto the floor. To her, he was nothing more than a human donut, and sadly she didn't feel any joy, not anything that she hoped she'd feel when she killed him. Far from it.