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Overwhelming Assault

I initiated the assault, launching a volley of ice spears toward Fabian, who stood confidently awaiting our attack. With a smirk, he waved his hand, activating his magnetism. The ice spears, caught in an invisible force, veered off their intended path, scattering harmlessly to the sides.

Not missing a beat, Ivory teleported behind him, aiming a powerful force blow directly at his back. Fabian, sensing the shift in the air, twisted just in time, deflecting her push with his arm. He withstood the force but staggered backward a bit.

I rapidly formed ice under his feet, making him slip. As he struggled to regain his balance, I crafted a massive ice wall around him to encase him. He crashed into it with a grunt as the ice shattered on top of him.

The thick ice on top of Fabian slid off his back like rubble; their weight meant nothing to him. He recovered quickly, and as he stood up, he sent ice shards flying back like shrapnel. He then surged forward, his movements surprisingly quick for his size.

Ivory reappeared beside me, and we split to flank him. I shot a dense ice beam towards him while Ivory circled, aiming to distract him. Fabian countered by clapping his hands together, creating a shockwave that disrupted my beam and knocked us to our feet.

Fabian anticipated one of Ivory's teleportations and reached to grab her as she tried to backstep. I reacted quickly and shot an ice beam to his face, causing him to flinch and halt his reach as he covered his face, blocking the ice from hitting him.

Ivory rolled away, and I immediately launched another series of ice blasts, this time aiming lower to restrict his movements by freezing his feet to the ground. Fabian ripped himself free and stepped on the ice with a display of brute strength that sent chunks of ice hurtling through the air.

Fabian lunged towards me in a powerful charge. Ivory teleported directly above him, dropping down to deliver a heavy-force blow. He looked up just in time, diverting his charge at the last second, causing her to miss and be blown away by her blast.

I gathered my energy and unleashed a massive wave of ice, enveloping Fabian in a frosty prison.

Ivory recovered and joined me, and together we watched Fabian's efforts to break free took a few seconds longer than before.

As Fabian burst from his icy prison, chunks of frost scattered and floated around him. Ivory and I exchanged looks to confirm if we had both just noticed what happened. It was clear from the effort he exerted to free himself this time that his strength was waning, even if it was slowly. "We can do this," I said to Ivory, catching my breath. "We just need to keep the pressure on."

Behind us, the sounds of ongoing battle surged as the rest of our team rallied to join the fight. Ryan and Cristofer were already deeply engaged with the Mateos clones. Braden manipulated gravity to disrupt the clones' footing, while Daniella zipped around at blinding speeds, delivering rapid strikes. Owen, with focused precision, conjured spears from thin air, hurling them at the clones, and pinning them to the ground.

Seeing my friends, no, my team, The Sunspears, fighting with such resolve, I felt pride and confidence swell within me. This was what we were best at, fighting united.

With renewed strength, I charged towards Fabian. As I approached, Ivory teleported behind him, delivering a forceful push that staggered him forward towards me. She continued her assault, blinking in and out of visibility, blasting him from all angles to keep him disoriented.

"Enough! It's like having a fly on your ear!" Fabian shouted, stomping his foot to the ground. Ivory tumbled as she reappeared, and he quickly grabbed her by the leg. Spinning once to gain momentum, he threw her far away, and she skipped across the rugged ground like a pebble on a pond.

I couldn't waste time thinking if she was okay. I took advantage of his frustration and released a dense mist of ice to cloud his vision further. Enraged and struggling to see, Fabian swung wildly. I anticipated his move, having learned from our earlier encounters about his temporary vulnerability when he used his magnetism to attack.

As his fist came hurtling towards me, I conjured a barrage of ice spikes, directing them with pinpoint accuracy. The spikes pierced his hand and arm, but they shattered instantly as the momentum of his punch continued, now slightly diverted. The impact was like a freight train, knocking the wind out of me as I flew backward, crashing into the ground with enough force to crack the pavement beneath me.

I gasped for air, pain radiating through my chest where his punch had landed. For a moment, the world spun, and silence filled my ears. I struggled to regain my footing, pushing myself up despite the pain. Looking up, I saw Fabian flexing his right arm, blood dripping from where the ice had pierced him. It seemed it did some damage, good.

We should take advantage of this. He was weakening, and with every strike, we were closer to ending this. I wiped the blood from my lip and locked eyes with him.

"We're not done yet," I called out to him, struggling to stand, every breath sending jolts of pain through my chest. "Is this what you expected of me? Or do you want more?" I taunted him.

Fabian's face twisted into a grimace of annoyance and then quickly to admiration. "Good," he growled, his voice thick with malice, "I can go all out now." With that, he flexed his muscles one more time with force, and the remnants of my ice shattered, falling away from his skin. His bulging veins began to emit a faint, ominous glow. It was the same eerie luminescence I had seen during our first fight with Davos and when Fabian fought Arianna. This confirmed that he had been hiding as Fabian since all this started, since that day in Itayó Forest when I met him. He's been deceiving us all this time.

Memories flooded in—how we had bonded on Amaracuya Island, how I had come to trust him so much. I even pleaded with Arianna to trust him, but she knew, she tried to warn me. "I thought you were my friend," I managed to say, my voice breaking.

Fabian met my gaze, his expression unchanged. "I am, Ellion," he said softly, "The time we spent together was real—my laughter, my stories, my trust in you. That was all me, not some part of a manipulation. Our friendship was as true as the pain we both feel now." His face now turned to one of sorrow. "I wanted to earn your trust so that when the time came, you could hear my part and understand me, not see me as some... villain."

"How could I see you as anything else?!" I replied.

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He stayed silent and softly said with a voice of regret, "... If only I had more time to make you understand."

The words hung between us. "Then why are we fighting?!" I asked with desperation and anger.

There was a pause, heavy with tension. "To stop me," he said in a low voice, his tone chilling with clarity.

"I will," I whispered, making a promise to myself.

Before he even had time to react, I conjured multiple thick ice walls between us as a defensive barrier, hoping to slow any attack he had planned. However, Fabian, with his sheer strength, shattered through the barriers as if they were mere glass. Maintaining his momentum, his shoulder led the charge, and he swung his fist toward me with devastating force.

Anticipating the strike, I dodged to the side and turned the ground beneath him into an ice patch, hoping to throw him off balance and counterattack. But Fabian didn't waver; his foot smashed through the ice, gaining traction and momentum as he lunged forward again, faster than before.

I braced myself for the impact. I was certain I didn't have time to evade his next attack. I closed my eyes, awaiting his fist, but it never came. I opened my eyes and instead, a hand appeared before me, offering assistance. I looked up to see Liam. It seemed he swapped me to safety at the last moment with his powers.

I gratefully took Liam's hand, pulling myself to my feet. "Thanks, I owe you my life." I let out a relieved sigh, the pounding of my heart easing slowly.

"No worries. It's time for us to join the fight," Liam replied with a grin.

I started searching for Ivory, who I hadn't seen since Fabian threw her far. She might not be able to teleport if Fabian managed to grab her, most likely marking her with his magnetism like before. He was now on the offensive, and we had to be more careful around his magnetic field.

"Liam, go get the others. We will need all the help we can get against—" Just then, the sound of ripping concrete cracked loudly through the air, cutting through my voice. Fabian had torn up a massive slab of pavement and hurled it at us with terrifying force. We scattered, but the crushing impact sent us flying, along with the broken debris, hitting and cutting us.

Regaining my footing quickly, ignoring the pain, I saw Fabian charging directly at me, flinging smaller chunks of earth as he advanced. I instinctively weaved my hands through the air, sending sharp ice shards cutting through the projectiles, both shattering mid-flight.

In the midst of our airborne duel, a sudden surge of electricity zipped across the ground, targeting Fabian's legs, and causing his muscles to convulse. "Got your back!" Ryan shouted as he joined my side.

Together, we braced for Fabian's next move. He was momentarily slowed, but with a grunt, he charged. I froze his path ahead once again to slip his trajectory, but he leaped over the slick surface.

Ryan was ready. Fabian soared overhead, and Ryan unleashed a barrage of electricity, making the air crackle with energy as the electric currents enveloped Fabian. His body lit up in a gruesome spectacle of twitching muscles.

Landing heavily but still menacing, Fabian swung a massive fist towards me. I ducked forward swiftly, the fist whistling dangerously close above my head, and I slid on the ice, positioning myself behind him. Seizing the opportunity, I thrust my hands forward, conjuring dense ice spikes aimed directly at his back.

The ice spikes, unsurprisingly, shifted erratically around Fabian due to his magnetism. He turned to face me with a menacing glare in his eyes. He blocked with his magnetism, meaning he would strike back as a counter. I knew what came next, and that was the opening I intended for.

Seizing the brief distraction, Ryan leaped onto Fabian's back, placing his hand directly on his head. With a determined shout, Ryan unleashed a torrent of electricity directly into Fabian, the bolts of energy wrapping around his body in a crackling embrace, causing him to stagger.

For a moment, Fabian slouched, his body shaking from the electric assault, and Ryan jumped back with a triumphant grin, believing he had the upper hand. However, Fabian's resilience was unmatched. He swiftly twisted, swinging his arm in a wide arc. Ryan caught off guard, was struck by the back of Fabian's arm and sent hurtling across the battlefield, landing with a painful thud. He then turned to face me once again.

As Fabian stepped towards me, his movements became unusually slow and heavy. He grimaced, feeling an invisible force pressing down on him. I quickly glanced sideways and caught sight of Braden, his hand extended toward Fabian, his face strained with concentration. Next to him was Liam, who nodded at me, letting me know he brought Braden to join the fight.

The gravity around Fabian intensified as Braden amplified his powers, making every step Fabian took seem like a battle against the earth itself. Seeing an opportunity, I lunged forward, my hands crafting a barrage of ice daggers that I hurled directly at the slowed giant.

Fabian, struggling under the heavy gravitational pull, managed to deflect some of the daggers with a wave of his hand, the magnetic field around him altering their trajectory. But his movements were too sluggish to catch them all, and some of them pierced his body, but he did not react to it.

At that moment, Owen also joined the fight. With a dramatic flourish, the air before him shimmered with thin glowing lines, as they began to trace the shape of the object he envisioned. The skeletal structures hung in the air, a blueprint that gradually solidified, filling with color and texture until thick metal silver bars were formed and thrown with precise control toward Fabian.

The bars landed on top of him and around him. Some clashed against his magnetic shield, others bending and wrapping under his control. His eyes blazed with fury as he felt the constraints of the metal bars around him tightening.

Unable to contain his rage any longer, Fabian unleashed a tremendous burst of magnetic energy. The force was so intense that it repelled everything around him—metal, debris, even the crushed earth beneath his feet. The explosive release of energy caused him to levitate, suspended by his own magnetic field.

The air around us vibrated with the force of his magnetic storm. Owen stumbled back, his creations shattered by the overwhelming power. Braden's gravity manipulation was overwhelmed by the sheer force emanating from Fabian.

Fabian spread his arms wide in the air. From beneath him, a network of invisible magnetic force lines surged out, tearing through the ground with ferocious speed. One of them headed straight for Braden, and another line targeted me, its destructive path etched clearly in the torn earth.

I knew there was no way to dodge in time, but instinctively, I leaped to the side. At that moment, Liam's power activated, and I felt the world blur around me as his swapping ability whisked me away once again from imminent danger. I landed, disoriented but safe, next to Braden, who was wide-eyed with shock.

A pained cry tore through the air, and my gaze snapped to where it originated. Liam was crumpled on the ground, his left arm gruesomely crushed by the relentless magnetic force. The sight was harrowing—bone and muscle distorted beyond recognition.

"Liam!" Braden shouted in horror.

Fabian, observing the damage he'd caused, let out a cold, mocking laugh as the magnetic field around him intensified, with debris and metal fragments orbiting him. "Don't tell me this is it! It's only fair I use all my power if you're bringing more people to the fight!" he yelled out to me. "I'll wait for your next move!"

After Fabian's taunt, Liam used his remaining arm to swap himself with a piece of debris next to me and Braden. It seemed Liam didn't have time to react and only found one piece of debris large enough to swap with Braden but not for me, so he used himself instead.

Braden helped Liam sit up and ripped out his shirt to tend to his missing limb, as Ivory suddenly teleported beside us, with Ryan on her side, who looked in pain, with his left hand on his likely cracked ribs.

"How did you teleport here? I thought Fabian had his magnetism on you." I asked curiously.

"It seemed Ryan's electricity disrupts Fabian's magnetic powers, ridding the magnetism he had on me," Ivory replied.

Ryan's electricity can cancel his magnetism? This is it, this is our chance. If we all work together, we can beat him. Owen, who had been crouching behind some rubble, joined us and confidence swelled inside me. With everyone here, I truly believe we have this. We can win.

"Yo, Owen. I saw you coming in all hot and cool with your silver cage, but suddenly you disappeared. What happened with all that sudden coolness?" Ryan teased him as Owen tumbled due to the rubble beneath him.

"Your shocks tickle him, at least I can hold him down." Owen shot back, annoyed.

"Enough, stop the bantering. I think we can win this. I have a plan, and I need your electricity to win, Ryan." I said as I gazed at him.

Ryan smirked, "Hear that? I am the key to winning this." he grinned at Owen, who rolled his eyes.

"Focus Owen, I need you to aid Liam while I relay the plan to you guys," I said as they huddled to hear my plan.