I grab at her neck with my left hand. My right foot crosses over to my left, bringing me in front of the woman. We stand face to face in a split second.

Tch.

My attack doesn’t land. She's grabbing onto my left hand, stopping my limb with sheer force alone.

Everything freezes. I see her punch at my head with a right.

The muscles in my left arm tense. Tug. I break free from her grip and duck under. Two of my arms rush to envelop her.

Got you.

Catching onto her waist, I put even more force into my body.

Thud. Her back slams against the railing.

I hear the apparent shift of metal, a high-pitched squeal of a noise that only signals one thing.

"Argh!"

The metal railing gives way. Under our weight, it bends an almost perfect ninety degrees.

Shit.

Half my body is hanging on the ground.

Damn. The railing's barely holding us. I can feel the altitude from up here. The vast height that only seems to grow with each second I stare into it.

I reach out with my left, holding onto the ledge. With a means to reach stable ground, I feel ready.

"Take this!"

I slam a right hook straight into her throat.

The force of it alone is enormous. Just enough to give the railing that little extra push it needs.

Crrrk.

The metallic structure topples into the air.

Using all my strength, I burrow my fingers onto the concrete pavement above, desperately holding on with my left hand.

Hah.

I win. The thought overrides me with joy for an instant.

Then, I feel it—a yank on my dangling right leg.

"Sorry, but I'm still hanging in there!"

Interestingly enough, she can speak just fine even after my punch. I thought I had broken her trachea, but I guess not.

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"Do me a favour and plummet to your death, won't you?"

"Plummet, yes, die, certainly not!"

Eh? What the...

I'm feeling a weight like a pendulum, forcing my leg to swing back and forth. I involuntarily shake my leg in response. It's no use. No matter how hard I try, nothing changes.

"Wooh!"

A cry from below. The weight dissipates just as my leg swings forth. Seconds later, an evident 'thud' of body against concrete echoes.

With that weight gone, I pull myself back to the hallway.

"Hah."

Damn. I want to revel in my strength, but I know there's no time. Making an effort, I lean forward over the edge, checking to see if my suspicions are true.

"Still alive and well!"

The woman waves hello at me, casually leaning on an intact railing.

Quite persistent, isn't she?

I have no intention of letting this drag out. Before the day is over, one of us will lose, one way or the other.

My legs kick into high gear. I rush to the nearest green door, an entryway for a staircase leading below. My body slams through it, sending it flying open. She's there too.

Already, she stands on the floor below, looking in front.

....Shit, what do I do?

We're about a few metres away from each other. But she hasn't seen me yet. Should I want, I could drop down and attack her that way...

Ah, fuck it.

I climb atop the handrail and jump down in one swift motion.

"Oop."

Aedi, noticing me, steps to the side.

Change of plans.

Bending my arms and legs, I prepare for landing. On contact, I roll over the ground, sending the impact to the surrounding area.

I move my unsettled body. Rising to face her, I prepare to attack with an axe kick when all of a sudden, something rings out.

"Arg."

I hold my deafened ears. Whatever sound she made is making me sick, sending a non-stop ringing blare through my head.

My eyes focus to meet her. I think they're playing tricks on me at first, but then I understand. Inside that woman's hand is a gun. The source of my troubles, a catalyst in making my fucking head go wild.

I exhale air as if they are my problems.

Focus.

My body rushes forward, right-arm extended, stepping to meet her in close-range.

She fires the damn thing again. A ricochet of metal. The bullet bounces off my metallic right arm into a nearby wall. I ignore it, forcing any thoughts of its impedance out of my head.

My punch manages to graze her face.

But that’s it. Right as it’s about to fully collide, she shifts her head to the side. Time stops. I prepare to retaliate.

“Tch.

The opportunity is taken from me.

I get caught. Her two wrists wrap around the back of my neck, pulling me close.. My stomach suffers from several blows after, four knees in quick succession. Blood regurgitates in my throat. I spit in her face.

A momentary advantage. I press it with a slam of my forehead into her face. Taking pride in her bloodied nose, my right knee shoots forward.

Ah. The moment lasts for an eternity. I fucked up. The kick destabilises my footing, and she uses it to push me. I hate myself for my weakness. My back falls straight onto the pavement.

Pain seizes my spine.

Without a chance to react, she mounts my chest.

I've lost. The last thing I see is the growing size of a punch before my gaze fades to back, leading myself to wonder just how I lost to this arsehole of all people.