Durojaiye held Fadala in his stranglehold. The sage's right arm was under the mortician's neck, her hand clutching the bicep of her left hand. Her left arm forced the gunman's head backwards like a lever. The left hand pressed his opponent's head forward, which increased the hang.

Fadala was dragged to the rock wall, which prevented him from moving. To reduce the feeling of suffocation, he bent his knees, which forced his opponent upwards. With his free hand, he slipped his hand under the medium's forearm and threw her to the right.

The quick counter-attack took his enemy by surprise. Durojaiye had taken Fadala by surprise, but with half her body plunged into the rocky wall, she had no foothold. She was thrown to the side, and before she could be shot, she plunged into the ground like a snake.

“Damn you! You won't escape a third time.”

Fadala felt the pain in his shoulder throbbing. He reloaded his pistol with difficulty. Since his strategy wouldn't work a second time against her, he decided he would draw her out. The hitman ran up the stairs.

Durojaiye chased him underground and tried to attack him several times. Fadala dodged all his blows. The medium knew the weakness of her Ofó, its mobility within the ground guaranteed total stealth, but it was slow. The Serpent's Diving Scales was an Ofó used for infiltration, not as a hand-to-hand combat tool, although it was applied as an assassination technique.

“Compact Snake Scales.”

The Generation Sage leapt out of the ground. With this Ofó, her speed and endurance were unparalleled. The scales made of shaped Axé and grouped along her body like an overcoat, reduced all friction with the air, making her aerodynamic. They were light, adjustable to her anatomy and very resistant.

Unh! She changed her strategy; we were at an impasse. Underground, you wouldn't be able to keep up with my speed.

Fadala, while running, turned to Durojayie. He put his hand in his suit pocket. The psychic predicted that it would be an explosive, and instinctively used Ofó Flexible Serpent Scales. Instead of an explosive, the man from Ilê Apanyan threw dozens of silver objects towards the sage.

But what are they?

“Coins…”

The various coins hit the medium's inflated body. He thought it was a distraction by his opponent to carry out the real attack. Durojaiye realized that the gunman had only reloaded his firearm. She reverted the scales from flexible to compact and, to her surprise, heard the sound of breaking glass. The sage groped around her abdomen until she discovered a coin wedged between two scales.

The Ofó had not filled its entire body. The space between the uncompacted scales created an instability in Axé's circulation. Axé's shapely scales collapsed onto the floor.

“No! But what have you done?”

The answer came from the gun, bang! He felt the projectile pierce his chest. With trembling hands, she brought her hand to the bleeding. She walked unsteadily, and felt a shiver run down her spine. Her body staggered backwards, but Fadala moved quickly and caught her in his arms before she collapsed to the ground.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Durojaiye felt weak, but at the same time she felt comfort. Fadala gently led her to the wall and helped her sit on the floor with her legs stretched out. Her head hung to one side, but he held her so she wouldn't collapse. She looked at the wound, then stared at the hitman with watery eyes.

“Oh! Hold me, sweetie. I feel the breath of death. Make this princess's last wish come true…”

The Sage of the Generation closed her tearful eyes, and her thick, moist lips prepared a kiss. Fadala pushed her away and lifted her off the ground.

“Don't be dramatic, I didn't hit any of your vital organs. You'll live.”

“You're not very gentlemanly with women, are you?”

“Sorry, I need to climb the Judgement Stone.”

“Even if you manage to reach your companions, you won't defeat anyone with that wounded arm.”

“I only need one hand to shoot.”

Fadala ran up the stairs. Durojaiye was upset at being defeated, but at the same time felt admiration for her enemy. Without the use of mediumship, he had defeated her. He lived up to the reputation of funeral directors. She stared up at the cloudy sky. She pressed the wound, splashing. Blood was the only thing emitting heat at that moment.

Suddenly, the Generation Sage grimaced in pain. She felt something piercing her chest. Blood began to flow from her eyes like tears. Between the flashes of lightning that traced the sky, she saw the dark figure that was growing in front of her. Just then, heavy rain began to fall.

I'm going to die here without seeing that new world you promised me, Ekundayo…

The medium's eyes became lifeless. The shadow that had attacked her revealed itself.

“General Luena, this is Nebula No. 1. Durojaiye, the Sage of the Generation, is dead. I'll get the Spirit Key and take it straight to you.”

“Go back to our mobile base immediately. Nebula No. 4 has been killed by the sage Hakim. I don't want to lose anyone else in the field today.”

“Yes, sir.”

⸎

Jabir looked at Akachi with contempt. He considered it disrespectful for the boy to bear the Spiritual Key of Faith without being a legitimate medium. Of all the sages, the Sage of Strength was the most attached to tradition, and he wouldn't accept a situation like that: a materialized bond of ancestry being used as a battery for an exoskeleton. It was more than an outrage, it was sacrilege.

“You're so weak that even with the Spiritual Key of Faith, you need to firm up your Ori Guardian in your body.”

“I'm not a medium, I never wanted to be. I can break one little rule or another…”

“One little rule or another? Hohohoho! You're just like your stupid father.”

“Don't talk about my father like that!”

Calm down, brou, he's trying to annoy you. Keep a cool head.

“This guy gets on my nerves, Fenyang.”

Jabir threw off his cloak, leaving only dark pants and boots. He spread a strong emission of Axé through his body, then concentrated it in his fists. His muscles tightened, making him more imposing. All around him, the ground was bruised with craters.

“I'm going to teach you a lesson that useless Yasini never gave you.”

“My master is not…”

From the side, brou.

Akachi placed the crossed sticks in an X shape. With great effort, he managed to deflect the attack into the wall. The young medium jumped away.

“Good! Make that old medium's skeleton rust, kid. Exponential Force Punch.”

Jabir set off against Akachi. Adisa's son had noticed that Jabir's previous punch was similar to a charging blow, in other words, he drew the Axé into his fists and struck with all the concentrated energy. By using the same amount, he would nullify the enemy's attack. When he was hit, the concentration of energy was much greater than expected.

Akachi was thrown up the stairs. The young medium picked himself up off the ground. He wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. The rain began to fall heavily. The rain droplets soon formed small cascades on the stone steps.

“What's wrong, kid? Are you going to run into Daddy's arms?”

“Fenyang, I hate that old man.”

That makes two of us, brou.

“I'm going to beat you so badly that that filthy spirit you've made will come out of your mouth.”

Jabir was quick to attack the boy. Azekel's grandson noticed that the sage was concentrating his Axé to deliver a single blow, calling on him to amplify his physical strength. To compensate for his physical strength, he had to use his speed. He concentrated Axé in his legs and prepared for a counter-attack.