“Choked to Death.”

Unexpectedly, my neck began to tighten immensely the moment I finished absorbing Sunflower’s body. It’s not like I could breathe in the first place, but it felt like two hands made of knives were clenching my neck. No, not two—even more than that. I dropped to my knees, pulling at the air around my neck to see what the hell was the problem. I didn’t find anything there. It wasn’t physical.

I turned my head and, as I expected, Jason had used his ability once again. However, what I didn’t expect was for him to bounce back from my attack so easily. Although, it clearly did do some damage as he was a bloody mess. Wait… the blood staining his jacket wasn’t his. It was green! Does that mean he tanked my beam like it was nothing!?

Suddenly, a pack of radioactive dogs came flying through the air and into the arena, greed blood squirting from their bodies. Before they collided with the brittle grass below, Jason raised his machete and moved it slightly—only a few inches. And yet, all of their bodies exploded in a burst of crimson, blood raining down on us. The masked man then took his chin and bent his head backwards unnaturally, a sickening crack from his neck echoing across the area.

Ignoring the pain, I pushed myself off the floor and landed a kick right into Jason’s crotch. He remained standing. Punch after punch, kick after kick, and it was like he didn’t feel a thing. The man lifted the bottom of his mask and the radioactive blood dropped into his mouth. He… swallowed it…

Is this guy stupid!? The idiot just made my job way easi-

“Radiation Poisoning.”

An immediate burst of aura erupted from his body, surrounding him like emerald flames as his skin turned green and his height increased. I jumped back a couple meters and slammed my hands together, whispering “Grassyland”. Blades of grass shot out from each direction like a coordinated spear attack, however they shattered the moment they touched Jason’s body. Damn it! Blasting the ground with my Fatherly Beam was a good idea initially, but now that all the plants in the ground are dying, I had to find some other way to do damage.

While the plants had gotten weaker, Jason’s skin had gotten harder. That wasn’t the only problem. Since I absorbed Sunflower’s body, I couldn’t release any kind of energy blast or construct for the time being—not until she fully reformed. That also meant I couldn’t absorb any extra energy as that would just taint the regeneration process. Which meant I would have to fight Jason… using only my body.

Although, there was something else I would have to avoid in this battle…

I pierced through the ground with my hands and pulled out a large slab of the floor. I leaped into the air and was about to bring down the slab when Jason spoke again.

“Steroid Overuse: Roided Out.”

The wood shattered instantly, sending sharp fragments flying everywhere as a force slammed into me, throwing me backward.

That piece of shit was using his own power on himself! But if his power works the way I think it does, then how the hell is he still ali-

“Where is the kid?”

For the second time since I met him, Jason spoke like a normal person. I’m starting to think the other nonsense he spouts is just an act.

“You talking about the kid you just decapitated?” I asked, readying a battle stance. “You’re not gonna see her anymore today. I can promise that.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Type Two,” he responded. His voice made the ooze over my bones vibrate uncomfortably, like jello on a moving plate. “Sunshine. I came for her.”

I picked up one of the wood fragments from the floor. “You’re gonna have a lot of trouble with that task ‘cause she’s not with me.”

“That’s unfortunate,” he said, scratching his neck with his blade. “Has death finally met her on your path towards survival?”

“I got a question that I hope a prick like you can answer. The first time we met, the second I said my daughter’s name you slammed my head against the ground and said something about how I was gonna cause the death of you all. So tell me why you’ve been itching to kill her ever since I left that skyscraper!?”

“I think you have the wrong idea about what I am, so let me exlp-” His sentence was interrupted by a shard of wood slicing through his sleeve. He looked at it momentarily and said, “As I was saying before, you have the wrong idea about who I am. When I first heard about Sunshine’s disease, I was under the assumption that it would kill me as well. It was until I heard that someone like me was actually immune to that fatal disease that I decided to choose another option.”

“And what option is that?” I asked.

“Those higher ups forced me to have limited options in the matter, and I despised that. So, I decided instead of capturing that girl, I will kill her.”

”Huh!?”

“You sound confused. But the reasoning is very obvious to me.” He extended his arms, his radioactive aura radiating across the arena. “I am a man who believes that any competition should be snuffed out immediately, and that child is the most threatening competition I’ve had in the fifty years I’ve been alive. I want to live a life where I’m free to kill any random person walking on the sidewalk, and I will not lose to some girl who’ll kill the entire population using some cheat code disease. If that happens, who’ll be left for me? I need to kill your Sunshine so I can keep doing what I’ve always been doing.”

Not even a second passed once I heard that speech before I charged towards Jason and punched him in his face. Once again, he treated my attack like a stuffed animal just struck him. He grabbed my skull and planted it into the ground.

“You think I’d let a freak like you kill my daughter… after everything you’ve done!” I shouted, hitting his arms but to no avail. The guy’s hand was massive and his arms were too.

“You will let me kill your daughter, and I’ll give you three reasons why,” said Jason. “You asked me a question earlier, about how I can live the rest of my life knowing I’ve done the things that I've done. The answer is simple. I can still live because I like killing and there isn’t enough room in my brain to remember all of the irrelevants I’ve killed.”

The beating in my chest returned, and the pounding was almost painful. Of course it was… I was so confident I could destroy this guy once I absorbed a Type Two, and yet I pretty much erased any winning technique I could’ve used. However, I couldn’t just get manhandled like this while he talked all this bullshit!

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I decked him in the face again, but he simply grabbed my arm and…

A scream forced itself out of my mouth. A crack had echoed through the air as a searing sensation filled my broken arm.

“Reason number one…” He lifted me up with one arm. “You’re too emotional. No one should be this angry over a child dying. Especially in a world like this. If it makes you feel any better, a child is more likely to die from a zombie like you than me.”

“Multiple…” I muttered, gripping his face with my other arm.“You killed multiple children in front of me! You tried to kill my own daught-”

“Reason number two…” He grabbed my uninjured arm and crushed it. Another shriek escaped from me. “You love your daughter too much. That girl will be the death of you. Not yet though. I only intend to capture you.”

“I’ll… kill-”

“And finally, reason number three…” He flung me upwards.

“Slammed into a Wall!”

The world spun unexpectedly, and before I could register what was happening, my back slammed into the wall with bone-rattling force. The unseen power didn’t relent—it pressed harder, driving me through the wall. The ability only stopped once I plummeted to the ground.

“You’re weak,” asserted Jason, approaching me. “And it’s through your weaknesses that allowed me to see how I could cause you the most pain imaginable. You didn’t feel any pain when I used my ability on you, but every time I landed a couple normal hits…” He shadowed over my body. “You felt it all, didn’t you?”

I hated being forced to hear that final reason… ‘cause it was true. It’s not like I didn’t think up a few last minute plans during the battle, but at the same time… I did way too many things that screwed it all up! I bet if Sunshine was here, she’d probably find a better counter to Jason’s ability than just keeping his mouth shut.

Although, maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with that. There’s been plenty of times I’ve survived just fine by just doing the first thing that popped up in my head.

Jason pointed his machete at me. “It’s time you come back with me. I’ll make sure to cut you up into pieces before I do though so enjoy it while it las…” His eyes widened even more than they already were. “You’re insane, Type Two!”

The masked maniac had broken both of my bones, and yet there was a fire in my imaginary heart that commanded me to use them anyway. And so, I did. It hurt like hell, but I slammed my hands together and yelled…

“Grassyland!”

The grass that my pants were made out sprang to life, hardening into sharp, spear-like points. Then with a sudden lunge, the blades shot forward and struck him square in the chest, driving him backward as he grunted surprisingly. His boots skidded across the ground until he was sent through a small building.

I dropped my arms to my side, and the grass returned to my legs. There was no way in hell I was gonna let Jason cut me up. The energy I absorb technically becomes mine, which would mean that Sunflower’s body was also my body. If I got sliced or stabbed in any fatal area, she'll come out with the same wound.

I picked myself back up, my legs doing the heavy lifting while my arms remained limp. I then ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction, hoping my earlier attack at least dazed Jason enough for me to find someplace to recuperate.

“You don’t look too good, mister zombie? You should really get those arms checked out!”

I jumped in shock, turning my head to see… a dragon!? It looked like Rosalina’s dragon, though it was way smaller and a little chubby.

“How the hell can you speak!?” I questioned, hopping over a fallen street light. “You’re a dragon!”

It flew around me, examining my body. “How can you speak!? You’re a zombie, aren’t you?”

“You answer my question first! And while you’re at it, turn back into that big form and start helping me!”

“No can do,” said the dragon, resting its body on my head. “This is the first time I’ve looked like this, but I guess it’s because that big guy destroyed my body completely. I would’ve gone back to my normal form after a while…until you decided to bring out my seed and summon me again!”

Bring out his seed? I don’t remember doing that! And I would remember pulling out something that looked like the thing Rosalima had in her dress.

“Why would you keep my seed in your pants!? You’re supposed to keep me in the ground, you do know that, right?”

If that’s the case… then the seed must’ve flew out once I used my grass technique!

“Listen, the original user of these powers just gave them to me, so I don’t really know the specifics of her techniques!” I ran to a car on the sidewalk and sat next to it. “I only know how to use them.

Not the best ways to use them.”

The dragon flew next to me and lowered a bit. “That kid you absorbed, she’s not gonna come out in the middle of this fight. I give it a couple days.”

“A couple days? I don’t have time for that,” I whispered, gesturing for it to quit flying. “That guy’s gonna destroy me before that happens. I thought this new form was supposed to make me stronger…”

“You are stronger,” he replied, sitting down. “You’re just not using your new abilities to its fullest potential. Not even the other woman was doing that.”

“Oh yeah? Tell me something I didn’t already know.”

“You can spawn a lot more than just leaves and weeds. You realize there are a lot more parts of nature than just that, right? It's too bad I’m sensing a whole bunch of radioactive energy in the ground. If you planned on absorbing the previous user, then why would you destroy the one thing that boosted your power?”

“I literally told you to tell me something I didn't know. And I wasn't expecting that psychopath to come here and fight me. He came out of nowhere.”

“Does he have a tendency to come out of nowhere?”

“Yeah, he d-”

“Sliced to Bits!”

Without warning, the dragon erupted in an explosion of tiny splinters. I attempted a dash out of the scene. I didn't get far as Jason caught me by my skull once again and turned my body towards him.

Damn it! There is no way I'm gonna lose to this piece of shit! I am not gonna-

“Just like we practiced, little lady!”

Little… lady? That laid back voice sounded familiar…

In that instant, an emerald explosion appeared on Jason’s back, causing him to stumble on his feet. His grip loosened, and I was able to shake my head enough to fall back to the ground.

There was a kid in front of me…a girl. She held a metal bat in one hand and a status board in the other. Her clothes were… similar to what my daughter always wore.

“Jerome, it hasn't been long but… I missed you.”

Her voice, her hair…

“Sunshine!?”