The trees and shrubs were a blur as Colson sprinted past. 'I never thought I'd think this,' Colson thought, 'But I'm actually worried about Ivy… maybe more than Zoe.'

Marlin was close behind, elegantly hopping over roots, ducking under branches, and leaping over downed trees—not missing a beat.

After a few more seconds of running, Colson crashed through the treeline into a clearing. He stopped in the middle and turned around to face Marlin, who glanced around the clearing, a slightly nervous look in his eye. 'I don't think there's anyone around here; this isn't an ambush, but I can't shake this feeling.'

Colson removed the bokken off his back. He pointed it forward, his stance widening as he steadied his breathing. His mind raced, his focus locked on Marlin., 'Every other time I activated energy, I had to close my eyes for a few seconds, but now I don't think I can afford to do that. If he realizes what I'm doing, he doesn't seem like the type to just wait around for me.' His knuckles tightened on the bokken’s hilt, the wood almost creaking under the strain. His gaze didn’t waver, his unblinking eyes fixed on Marlin’s. A ray of sunlight pierced through the thick canopy above, cutting across Marlin’s face. 'This would be the perfect picture,' he thought. The water dripping from his face caught the light, shimmering like scattered diamonds.

Marlin looked on, unphased. 'Fighting experience and normal physical strength, he's a lot weaker. But…my energy is almost entirely depleted; too many mistakes could make this turn sour.'

Colson marched forward, swinging downward, with Marlin easily evading by stepping to the right and charging his fist with all his might at Colson's head.

Lunging to the side, Marlin's fist grazed the side of his cheek. He followed it up with a forward kick into Colson's chest. Letting the blow connect, it almost knocked the wind out of him, but he wrapped his arm around the leg, tucking it under his armpit, walking forward, and using his leg to trip Marlin.

The blonde man crashed to the ground, his leg still held by Colson. He looked up to see the bokken inches from his face, too close to dodge or block. It hit him over his left eye, and a loud thwack rang out. Lifting the wooden sword, Colson brought it down again, point first, aiming for the other eye. Marlin was ready this time. Slapping it mid-trajectory. The tip of the bokken stabbed itself into the dirt next to his head.

"I'm about to break this thing," he snarled. His hand shot out to grab it before Colson could release it from the dirt. His left cheek was bruised and swelled, slowly forcing his eye closed.

Colson moved backward, attempting to yank it from Marlin's grasp, but his grip strength was too tight.

Grasping the bokken with his other hand, Marlin attempted to snap it in half. 'What?' he thought with a grimace. 'What the hell?'

Colson ripped it from his hands with a big tug, "It's made from a rare strain of Buloke, considered to be the hardest wood in the world. You aren't going to break it that easily." A confident smile crossed his face, "that's also why it hurt so much."

Marlin rolled to his feet and sprinted towards Colson, lunging at him. Colson struck his jaw with an upward swing, jarring him. As the bokken connected, a slight smirk crossed Marlin's face.

Colson felt a crunch and cold pain as Marlin's fist connected with his cheek. He lay on the ground, sprawled, groaning and holding his cheek. Marlin stood over him, "give up."

Kiari's hand extended towards Ivy's face, just inches away. Ivy kicked out, her foot knocking his forearm away. The determined look on Ivy's face told him everything he needed to know. Before he could follow up, Ivy rolled out of the way, getting to her feet, taking off her jacket, and revealing a black t-shirt underneath.

"Ivy is your name, correct?"

Ivy didn't respond.

"So, Ivy, this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing. Your plan was to split us up. You also seem to know about my ability as well. I didn't think there were any survivors left that could give information about it, but oh well. You really don't want to do this. It'll end badly for you; I can promise you that."

"I don't like you. I'm not gonna make any deal like that with you. You can attack me all you like, but you aren't getting anything from me," she said, placing her knuckle dusters over her fingers.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"You're gonna fight till the very end, huh? We'll see how long that mentality lasts because, frankly, I don't believe you." He crouched down to the ground, setting his hand on the dirt for balance. A second later, a booming energy surrounded him—a deafening drone. It spread larger than Ivy thought was possible; instead of surrounding his body a few inches, it was three feet. "After she sees this, she won't act so tough. Though this takes almost everything I have."

Ivy didn't move. She didn't blink. There were no outward indications that she even saw anything.

'Damn, nothing?' he thought, an intrigued look crossing his face. 'I think I like her.' He let his energy subside to its standard size.

Ivy closed her eyes; a few seconds later, the white aura bubbled from her skin; as if milk bubbles floated from every pore.

'So she was able to figure out how to do it. Based on its formation, I can tell it's just been developed; still, though; it's strong enough that I can't screw around too much.'

Ivy sprinted forward towards him. What Cahya had told her earlier, coming to the surface, 'The aura surrounding your body is a good defense against most things. Hell, it may be a good way to stop his explosions from hurting you too much, depending on what ratio of energy he'll put into them.'She leaped, twisting her body midair, and drove both legs forward in a double-leg dropkick aimed straight at him. Kiari ducked just in time, the wind from her movement ruffling his hair as she flew overhead. Ivy landed in a crouch, and without missing a beat, she lunged at him again, throwing a flurry of punches. Each strike was precise, calculated—but none of them found their mark.

Kiari sidestepped and deflected her blows with an almost lazy efficiency, his expression calm yet focused. 'She's definitely trained, but she still can't land a single hit on me. Below me in fighting experience and energy.' His eyes narrowed, scanning their surroundings. 'She knows that if she keeps going as she does, she'll be seriously injured or die, right? She can’t win this head-on. So why is she so relentless? There’s got to be a trap, an ambush, something I’m missing. I've got to keep my awareness up.'

Ivy shifted, pivoting on her back foot, and launched a kick toward the inside of his knee. Kiari caught her ankle mid-strike, and flung her into a nearby tree. The wood splintered where her skull hit. Ivy slumped briefly, the world spinning, but she forced herself upright, her eyes never leaving him. Blood trickled down her temple, and her breaths came in sharp, ragged gasps. Still, she charged again, closing the distance between them in seconds; before reaching him, his fist cracked her across the head, sending Ivy several yards away. She hit the ground hard, her body rolling limply before coming to a stop. The shimmering veil of energy around her flickered and died.

"You know," Kiari called out to her, "I was slightly nervous at first. Learning your shimmer in such a short time is nothing short of a miracle; you clearly have a talent for this. I didn't want to have to use my ability against a child, but now I see that I won't even need to use it."

Ivy opened her mouth, letting the blood drip out of it onto the ground. Slowly, she raised a trembling hand to her ear, feeling the warm trickle of blood oozing from it. Her gaze drifted forward, past Kiari, through the line of trees. Thirty yards away, she spotted it—the old village convenience store.

"I hate this," she growled through gritted teeth. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Closing her eyes, she drew in a breath.

When Ivy opened them again, her energy flared back to life, a new veil forming around her. She pushed herself to her feet.

Kiari raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. “You aren’t done yet?”

Kiari was on top of her before she knew it, driving his knee into her stomach with crushing force, knocking the wind from her lungs. She doubled over instinctively, only to feel his fist collide with her throat in a brutal uppercut that sent her airborne. Ivy’s vision blurred as her body left the ground. His other hand caught the back of her head. He drove her face-first into the dirt. The impact left a shallow crater in the packed earth, dust rising around them in a suffocating cloud. Ivy groaned, dazed, barely able to lift her head before Kiari’s foot connected with her ribs in a powerful kick. She was sent skidding several feet away, her body tumbling across the ground before she somehow managed to catch herself on her hands and knees.

Coughing, her chest heaving, she wiped at the blood dripping from her nose and mouth. Her ribs screamed with every breath. He walked over, his open palm extended, glowing with energy. His swipe came quick, like a cobra striking, aimed to end it all.

But Ivy moved, dodging the strike by mere centimeters. She felt the wind of his attack brush her cheek, the raw energy crackling in the air where her head had been moments before.

'That was the perfect opportunity right there. Why? Why did I miss!'

Geier walked forward; he was slightly taller and a few years older than Zoe, about six inches taller and five years older. He extended his hand in front of him, admiring his nails—sharp claw-like things, able to slice through bone. He looked up, noting the girl in front of him. She gave off a nervous vibe, not unlike the last time he saw her. Now, her hair was tied back tightly, and her clothes were small and athletic.

Zoe thought back to her conversation with Cahya several hours prior, "You know, I know you don't like to be seen and all, but if you're going to fight someone, wearing baggy clothes like that will be a death sentence. Someone can easily grab it, or it can get snagged on something. Also, pull your hair away from your face; minimize blind spots, as little as they maybe.' She steadied her nervous breath, slowing her heart rate, 'Well, If I'm lucky and everything goes to plan, I won't need to fight him for more than a few seconds. In one motion, this'll be over! I won't even have to kill him." She took another deep breath, composing herself.

Geier was within arms reach of her now, his fingernails inches from her face. Her eyes shifted from the ground to his eyes. A smug look was plastered on his face.