Sifu Ramos motioned for Charlie to come at him.

“Come on!” he called. “I can’t kick your ass if you’re over there!”

Charlie spat out some blood and resumed his fighting stance.

“Be careful what you wish for” he hissed.

“Mei!” Sifu Ramos yelled. “Are you watching?”

“Y-yes?” she answered, still trying to drag her brother’s body away.

“Good! I’m about to look really cool right now and want someone to see.”

Mei had a befuddled look on her face. How was he so relaxed right now? Why wasn't he freaking out like she was? She felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest but there he was acting nonchalant. She glanced down at her brother. He was still unconscious, still emitting that strange glow. To her utter astonishment, his wounds had partially healed. The cuts he sustained had gotten smaller. Sifu Ramos had said that Rama glowing was good so does he know what’s happening?

Charlie vanished, reappearing on Sifu Ramos’ side. He swung a knife in a wide arc but Sifu Ramos stepped in, making the only thing that hit him was Charlie’s forearm. Charlie tried to plunge his other knife into his opponent’s stomach but Sifu Ramos hit him with a quick punch to the gut, knocking Charlie back. Charlie quickly recovered, backflipping away, then disappeared.

He was now behind Sifu Ramos, arms raised, ready to dive the knives into Sifu Ramos’ back.

“Watah!” Sifu Ramos exclaimed, hitting Charlie’s head with the back of his right fist.

He quickly followed up with a back kick, setting Charlie tumbling into the water.

Charlie got up, barely able to put his guard up as he was hit with a punch to the face. He tried to counter, throwing a left hook but Sifu Ramos threw a left hook of his own. Their fists collided. Charlie’s hand felt a sharp pain on impact. It was like he had punched a brick wall. Something shattered. Charlie yelped in pain as Sifu Ramos smashed his mouth with an elbow strike.

Charlie stepped back, holding onto his mouth. Some teeth had gotten knocked free.

“What’s wrong, tough guy?” asked Sifu Ramos. “Is that really all you got? I wanted to show off more."

He whirled around.

“Mei, did you see all that? Is Rama still unconscious? I want him to see too since-”

“You want to see my power?!” Charlie interrupted. “I’ll show you! I’m the 11th Apostle!”

“I don't care what church you go to!” Sifu Ramos shot back. “I haven’t gone since I was 12!”

“....I’m going to enjoy killing you.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Charlie began to breathe heavily, swaying his body back and forth. Sifu Ramos raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“I’ll cut you all down in seconds.” Charlie declared.

He disappeared, reappearing a few feet away, then disappeared again. Over and over he was in one spot, then in another. He teleported himself so quickly there were afterimages as he moved about in a random fashion. Sifu Ramos remained still, his eyes flicking back and forth.

“Fascinating” Sifu Ramos said with a smirk. “Never seen this before.”

Sifu Ramos felt a cut on his right forearm. He looked at it, then felt another cut on his back. More and more cuts appeared on his body. Fortunately, none of the cuts were deep, almost as if his skin was too tough to cut into.

“Mr. Ramos!” Mei exclaimed. “You have to run! He’s too fast!”

“Too fast?” Sifu Ramos replied as he received a cut on his cheek. “This guy is embarrassingly slow! I can predict his movements. Check this out.”

Sifu Ramos closed his eyes in the midst of his body receiving dozens upon dozens of cuts. He exhaled loudly.

“Watah!” he yelled.

He stepped forward, twisting his body as he threw a straight punch. As predicted he hit Charlie in the chest, him having materialized in front of Sifu Ramos. He could feel Charlie’s breastbone shatter as Charlie’s body zoomed across the pool, crashing into one of the water park’s slides. Charlie’s body bounced off it, landing into the pool. A faint yellow glow effused off Sifu Ramos’ body as he remained in position. Mei watched on, speechless.

“Mei did you-”

“Y-yes I saw it! That was..that was amazing! What was that?”

“Me being incredibly cool”

***

What had happened? Charlie couldn’t tell, his body felt…loose, empty. He felt like he was in an abyss. All he remembered was that he was fighting, on the verge of victory. Then something unexpected happened. He had to go all out followed by a sharp pain in his chest. He didn’t feel alive. It was like he was being submerged in something. What was it? His eyes opened, seeing he was surrounded by water on all sides. His senses came back to him. He was drowning! His body began to scramble but it was difficult to move. His chest was collapsing in on itself, the chest bone having indeed shattered. He couldn’t breathe. He’d have to leave, leave like the 12th Apostle. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. He was stronger than her, he should’ve succeeded where she failed. He was so close but it was yanked away from him by that stranger. Why didn’t the 12th tell him that there were such strong people in this world?

He underestimated them. This world was dangerous. He thought he could do it alone, he was wrong. He’d have to get the others. All of them, along with the mercenaries, would be more than enough to settle things once and for all. For now, he had to leave, accepting that this was his loss. He put his hand forward as the water filled into his lungs. A purple portal opened and it sucked the water in, along with himself. He went through it, back to his own world.

***

The mall once again teemed with life. Around Sifu Ramos, Mei, and the still unconscious Rama, people appeared around them, oblivious to everything that had transpired. The people closest to them stopped and gasped, seeing the conditions they were in.

“Huh guess that means I won.” Sifu Ramos realized, scratching his chin. “I was hoping he’d come back, I was getting hyped up.”

“Mr. Ramos!” Mei shouted. “We need to go! We need to take Rama to the hospital!”

Sifu Ramos strode over to them, ignoring the watching crowd who wondered where the damaged people had come from. He stopped, examining Rama’s body. His wounds were still there but were even smaller than before.

“He’s going to be fine,” he said, picking Rama up like a sleeping child. “He’s probably going to be sore when he wakes up but he’ll be as good as new.”

Mei stood up, her clothes wet, dirty, and partially ripped.

“Can you finally explain what’s happening!” she demanded.

“Hmmm yeah I can do that. We all need to have a talk.”

The three of them began to walk as people looked on, utterly baffled by the sight of the trio.