Tides Of Protomis LXVII
A Tale Of Two Espers
It was apparent there was no way the third Apostle’s last-ditch attack would go unnoticed, whether it had been by the troops on the ground, HAU pilots, or those within the many ships that littered the sky. Kazimir looked over his shoulder to see the attack's effects. The rapidly dissipating embers and the smokescreen that was left over though, it began to clear as well. His gaze stayed fixated upon the rapidly dissipating flames. Then, as he’d confirmed they were gone, he turned his head.
“That just goes to show what we’re dealing with. Even so, I won’t be trying to escape. Not while this one is still alive. Even a single apostle living would let the Kaemerge have someone to rally around when this is all over, especially factoring in their strength. I won’t let a single one survive…”
Kazimir would focus his gaze on a certain Auburn-haired woman, Amelia Livert, who returned his stern eyes with a smile. For some moments, the two simply floated, not saying a word to another, as if they were sizing one another up. This was not a battle he could take lightly. Kazimir acknowledged that much. Now, the question was how he was going to approach this battle.
“Amelia Livert… You’ve got quite the reputation. So I’ve heard that you’re the one controlling much of the Kaemerge’s men… Lafeyah was one of them.”
“So you are the one who usurped my control?”
Amelia opened her hands, something followed by her signature red aura swarming around her. The straight locks on her end began to flow upward, covered with luminance as well. As Kazimir observed this, he would take the same action. His slightly darker red now swirling around him, along with his hair rising. The staring match was shortly followed by the ground below them tremoring, though slightly with their respective powers pushed outward.
“It seems that your abilities as an esper are decent…” Amelia noted.
At the very least, she’d give him that, however… Her smile soon contorted into a smirk as the light grew more intense.
“It’s not enough to defeat me!”
The buildings around Amelia soon crumbled into rubble as a red glow washed over them. The jagged clusters of debris soon rose from the ground, surrounding the woman. Kazimir looked to have mirrored her actions. As he did the same, the clusters began to surround him as well… The two waited for the other to make a move for what felt like minutes. Ultimately, Amelia was the first, and Kazimir followed soon afterward. With both opening their hands, the debris flew from their respective orbits directly toward their opponents, the velocity only increasing as time went on.
Regardless, the attacks and counter-attacks simply crashed into each other, none reaching their intended target. To avoid a deadlock forming, Kazimir began to retract debris, forming a shield around them. Then, with his defenses set, he began his charge at Amelia, with the multiple rings of debris following him. Taking note, Amelia tried to stop his attack then and there, sending another volley of rock. But the makeshift defense field served its purpose, allowing him to continue his rush forward, even with her attempts to halt him… As Amelia observed this, she took note of how her own debris collapsed upon impact with hers. It was then that she realized what was going on.
“It looks like he changed the density of his debris...Or at the least, for that front layer, but two can play at that game.”
The glow around her would intensify, as did the light around the rubble. They soon flew into Kazimir’s defensive field and began to tear it apart. Which certainly didn’t bode well. The man stopped his advance and withdrew, moving more debris to the forefront in order to secure himself.
“I got put on the defensive that quickly?”
Amelia let out a chuckle as she observed the male stopping.
“You won’t get anywhere charging in like that. My barrier is impenetrable!”
As he took note of her words, the speed of the rubble around him began to increase. To the untrained eye, they looked to be nothing but blurs. Though, both Kazimir and his opponent were more than capable.
“You’re pretty confident, aren’t you? But, don’t get the wrong idea- I’m just getting started!”
The light swirling around Kazimir began to intensify, beginning to revolve around his body much faster than it had before. No sooner did the ground under them began to rupture once more. As the youth pushed his power, his influence outward, the Earth and road below them began to crack, with chunks of debris starting to float, something followed by the remains of the few structures around them. Coming to orbit Kazimir as well, in different layered rings. He glanced around his opponent as thoughts flew around his head.
“Her abilities are similar to mine… but that can be said for many proto-humans. For all I know, she could have something else up her sleeve… Looking at her physique, she may not be a physical fighter. However, looks can be deceiving. But with nothing else to go on, I’ll have to take a gamble!”
Kazimir flashed forward, a loud boom sounding as he did. Amelia remained unphased as she raised her hands and began sending more rubble at him. However, his rings simply moved to intercept her attacks, stopping any of the objects from reaching him. Amelia’s smirk would disappear as she began her attempt to figure out her opponent’s strategy… It wasn’t wise to just charge forward as he did, but given how he was built… The gears began moving in her head as she took notice of what he was trying to do. She soon began to levitate backward, flinging more and more debris at him in an attempt to stop his advance. However, he wouldn’t stop. In fact, he sped up. Though taken by surprise, the woman regained her composure, simply flinging more and more debris at him. Regardless, Kazimir made it within her melee range, reeling his left fist back before smashing his fist into her cheek, to devastating effect, as she was thrown as if she were a ragdoll. Though she stopped herself soon after, she attempted to return a punch, throwing a punch at Kazimir’s stomach. Though her fist slammed into the man, it was to little effect. As he returned with an uppercut to her chin, which set her head lurching back.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“What?!”
Her gaze slowly moved toward the man’s scowl, boring into her… The fact that she would use her abilities to control minds, it was repulsive to him. Though he could, that was a line he wouldn’t cross.
“You may be strong in your abilities… But hand to hand is my domain!!!”
Kazimir soon resumed his attacks, right, left, right, left; the hits continued to devastate the woman repeatedly. Though she would make her attempts at defense, attempting to throw counter strikes, her attacks did little to her opponent, he simply continued, and she once again found herself hit once again, on her cheeks, on her body. Blood began to drip from her nose as she continued taking strikes. The debris around her began to fall as she found herself unable to keep her control over them.
As the storm of blows stopped, even temporarily, Amelia was ready to make her escape. Something that Kazimir had seemingly decided to help with as he launched his foot into her stomach, sending her spiraling backward. He moved to follow her, speeding past and appearing behind her. Clasped his hands together as he brought them above his head before bringing them down onto hers, sending the apostle crashing into the ground. He flew down to follow her and continue his assault. But another red glow, undoubtedly her power, surrounded him, and he soon found himself unmoving. Which took him by surprise, even more so as he began to ascend... Below, laying in the crater she created, was a bloodied Amelia. She began to stand. As she clasped her hands, the buildings and land broke once again, as they blurred over to Kazimir, gradually surrounding him and forming a sort of shell. Kazimir’s eyes widened as he glanced around.
“What the hell, what is this?!”
The shell grew and grew until it began to cast a shadow over the ground below them. Then, it began taking shape as the rough edges began to smooth until the debris now formed a sphere around him. Amelia gritted her teeth as her fists tightened.
“He’s trying to break out!!!”
The red light around her intensified, and within the sphere, the same happened to Kazimir. The two espers tried their hardest to push against each other’s influence, sense where structural weaknesses were, and exploit and/or heal said weaknesses. A much a battle of the mind as it was pure power. But for some time, it looked like they would be locked into this deadlock, stuck constantly moving their energy around to counter the other. After all, it went without saying that neither planned to back down…
Eventually, after what felt like hours, with the effort they put in, cracks began to show up on the recently smoothed edges. Something the apostle noticed almost immediately. Though they began to heal as the light around her began to spread, the shell did not keep its shape for long, as the cracks rapidly expanded, before the body around him fell into halves. A red ray streaked out, with a resounding yell accompanying it, Kazimir’s war cry. He’d escaped containment, and though his body was littered with some scratches and bruises, it was a good enough result for him. Amelia continued staring at the opponent that floated above her as her expression seemingly began to soften.
“That strength of his… It’s all starting to come together.” She mumbled.
Part B
1994…. It was but a year after Sokol Naumov carried out Operation Guillotine in his overthrow of the Constitutional Republic Of Muscovy. Even if most of the leaders of any resistance could rally around were eliminated or vanished off the face of the Earth, there was still a chance that anti-imperial elements would prop themselves up if they got complacent. As such, the Kaemerge offered to help take care of any dissidents so as to let the Tsar focus on reinforcing his power, and he accepted.
For that reason, the Imperial forces sent a particular woman in. One who had a long record of service, stretching back to her childhood. The woman known as the “Silent Death” across the Kaemerge Empire was one of those assigned to make sure no resistance got too strong... Unfortunately, after Taking out a socialist group in one of the small towns lining the Siberian coast, she managed to get herself infected during their travels. Though the disease was not deadly, it was enough that she was out of commission, at least for a bit… It was for that reason that she was helped by a man who commonly traveled across the nation during his young days. The youthful Auburn-haired woman found herself in a small wooden cabin, surrounded by naught but the chilled wilderness of Siberia. As to be expected, considering it was winter.
As she lay on the bed, her gaze fell on a black-haired man sitting beside her. He wore a black shirt and a pair of jeans. He seemingly paid her no mind, knowing quite well she didn’t seem to enjoy conversation. The man couldn’t understand why, but he didn’t question it either. Instead, his blue orbs went across a screen in his right hand. A flatscreen tablet, though somewhat old by that point in time, was still reliable technology. The woman crossed her arms as she sat up, turning her attention from him to the window.
“I don’t understand you… What was the point in this? You find some random stranger in the wild, and you bring her to your home? Do you have some ulterior motive?”
The question made the man’s eyes stop moving… Did she genuinely have that sort of outlook? It was pessimistic, that was for sure… But, given he didn’t know what the woman experienced, the best he could do was be honest, at least in this case. He pressed a button on the side of the device, and the screen went dark. He turned his gaze to the woman.
“I don’t need a point, as you say. Nor do I need a motive. I simply saw that you were in trouble, so I decided to help.”
The man leaned back into his chair, his hands clasped behind his head.
“Any reasonable person would have done the same…”
Amelia soon closed her eyes as she went silent, and for some moments, she didn’t move, nor did she talk. Considering the man’s words and thinking of how to respond. It was a few minutes before she opened her eyes and stopped analyzing the situation.
“Fine... I’ll trust you for now.”
As she shifted within the covers, she eventually laid down, the man glancing over at her as he watched.
Affected by her training and lack of meaningful social contact, Amelia would eventually grow closer to him and grow out of her abrasive stance. Even as she declared she would recover on her own, the man seemed adamant about continuing to help. It wasn’t uncommon for him to leave, but it always seemed like he would return. At first, much to her chagrin. Though this would change, as she had begun to enjoy his company, though it took some time... They would continue their time together until….
Amelia’s eyes widened as she kept her gaze on the man now floating right above her. She began to regain her composure as her eyes went back to their normal size… But seemingly began to lose it soon after, as she cracked a smile and soon began a hearty laugh. Kazimir looked on in confusion. What was going on? Why was she laughing in the middle of a battle?!
“What are you laughing at?”
Though she responded, she found herself chuckling between words.
“It’s, just really... Funny, I don’t know how I didn’t notice it, especially when you look so much like your father.”
This, to say the least, caught him by surprise, even if he didn’t show it visibly. Instead, he glowered at her because of the implications.
“My father- How would you know what my father looked like?! Were you the one who killed him?!”
She waved her hand dismissively.
“No, No, Nothing of the sort… Even though I haven’t seen you since you were an infant- this saddens me. As rare as it is, it looks like you have similar abilities to me. Shouldn’t you sense some familiarity?”
“Familiarity…” He repeated in a questioning tone.
“Wait… She knows my father… And she can’t be any of my other family-- and she claims she hasn’t seen me since I was an...Infant.”
Within moments, the gears in his head came to a halt as he began to make the realization as his eyes widened like saucers. There was no more strategy, no more tactics, but simple thoughts of confusion...disbelief, denial… But even so, all of this, and the fact that their abilities were identical, almost as if they were…
“No, that can’t be!!” He shouted.
“To think that we would meet like this… “
Despite the many thoughts that flew through his head, Kazimir only had but one thing he could say.
“Why… Did it have to be you of all people?!”
“Is that any way to speak to your mother, Kazimir?”
To Be Continued