What We Become
The female traitor behind the gauntlets man supported her hold of her pistol over his left shoulders as he crouched, taking all those daggers off his body while she protected him. She aimed and fired at Phesx Caolia, who had just lunged towards the last of another 3 who remained besides them. Phesx hit the neck of the last traitor of those 3, using the corpse to fall on his back with his knees against the corpse's torso.
Phesx couldn’t resist a whole magazine without more than his uniform and a corpse to protect him. Only the gauntlets man and a few traitors whom Teon was fighting had bulletproof vests that would actually work.
Phesx slid to another freshly-made corpse while dragging the other whose neck he just broke on the ground, using it to cover his front as he stood up with a forceful motion to stand up. Then, Phesx rushed towards them, but the gauntlets traitor had just taken all the daggers off his body.
Phesx met the guy head-on. He rose his left fist to hit the traitor’s sternum, but the traitor lifted his right knee and slightly jolted his body up. Phesx jerked his shoulders to tilt to the right, with his back going below the traitor’s lifted leg, which unbent and kicked the air, clearly not intending to just block him before.
Phesx closed his eyes tight and sent his breath to ‘solidify’ in his body, preparing to receive an attack as he aimed his pistol with his left hand at the guy’s abdomen. The traitor had a face of victory after feeling his left knee crash onto Phesx’s face.
He was about to impulse his body with his right foot coming back down from the air to knee his face again, when he saw the pistol aiming at his guts. But just then, the darkness was flashed on their side again by the female traitor, who stood up and found an angle to shoot.
Bang! “!” Phesx felt his hand become numb as his scalp numbed, the pistol flew off in bits. He had instinctively changed the position of his pistol in the last moment, avoiding becoming crippled from the wrist to ‘block’ the shot. Phesx opened his eyes, feeling a little lost.
The gauntlets traitor wrapped his hands around Phesx’s head before aggressively lifting his right bent knee after the scare. Phesx’s moved his face, getting hit in the nose instead of his glabella, but the traitor wasn’t done there. The traitor kneed and kneed his face until his broken nose and blood were splashed about, smearing around his face, and his nose simply looked awful.
Bang! Just as Phesx was about to make his body tremble, needing only a second a half to activate his sharpening. A shot was fired from afar. The gauntlets guy looked back, only to see his female comrade falling forth with her head limp and the rest of her body stiff. A stream of blood flew forth from a gunshot behind her head.
When her body relaxed, the guy looked further behind, where Teon half-knelt with her small pistol’s hold supported above her left knee. A corpse from a well-armored traitor fell after struggling to keep his conscience intact, but his head was smashed into 2 sides, each one showing broken eyeballs and exposed brain matter.
Punch! Phesx looked at this as well. He formed a fist with his left fist before punching the remaining traitor’s right lower ribs. Teon hurried towards them, rapidly arriving with a swiping right kick after dashing into the air.
The gauntlets traitor decided rapidly, grabbing Phesx’s ear to keep him steady before slapping towards his left ear. Phesx’s eyes contents jumped in dilation before rapidly returning to normal. He turned his head and got slapped squarely on the face, further feeling pain from his nose. But he bit through the gauntlet and the side of the hand slapping him, taking a chunk off while still holding onto bones.
The gauntlets guy directly stepped back, knowing Teon would hit him now. Teon continued dashing through the air. Phesx lifted his left wrist, stopping her kick at her lower shin with Teon using the moment of her stop to aim her small pistol at the man’s face.
Bang bang! She fired twice, but the man rapidly jolted his neck, getting his ear partially torn off and his head’s left side grazed bloodily. He then slapped Teon’s hands down with his joined wrists, breaking off her hold onto it.
Just as Phesx saw the man preparing to strike Teon’s back, Phesx hit her first, using his right hand to chop down at her lower back. Teon used the impact to spin her body, directing her right heel towards the traitor’s face, hitting his right cheek.
The traitor tumbled backwards several steps before stabilizing, looking at Phesx. He ducked and lowered his left hand to his holster, having seen a gun in Phesx’s hand, but all he heard next were footsteps and no gunshots. Step, step- clinkkk~.
Teon was down on the ground, hitting her face on it after the fall. Phesx could have saved her, but he rather dashed forth to strike the traitor. When the gauntlets man realized Phesx was holding a piece of a broken blade before, he rapidly pulled out his handgun, but Phesx’s impenetrable eyes shone strongly; prepared for this.
Phesx rapidly swept his right arm like he wielded a whip from his left to his right in front of his face. The remains of his small pistol came dashing through in an arch from behind, where it had broken and flown off to, to Phesx’s left before slashing the man’s chest and left wrist.
“Agh!” The man exclaimed, but Phesx had made a jolt into the air with his left knee aiming at his head. The traitor dodged his head, but Phesx unbent his left leg beforehand, aiming at his solar plexus.
As the man felt his lungs kicked, Teon stood up in a quick motion before hitting his right knee, breaking it into two, forcing the man to kneel with his left leg. Phesx continued, throwing a punch to his face, but the left gauntlet caught it before the right one hit his elbow, almost snapping it.
Teon supported her body on the ground with her palms, kicking towards the man’s neck with the tip of her right shoe. But the traitor opened his mouth wide and, sacrificing some teeth, bit her lower shin.
Phesx headbutted the man’s right side after he leaned it over. The traitor became a bit dizzy, but he didn’t back away. Teon broke the traitor’s right knee connecting it to his leg to get free as the man gasped.
The traitor pushed Phesx off with sheer power, further backed by the gauntlets. Phesx threw a kick at his right arm as he was pushed backwards. Teon headbutted him from forehead to forehead before the traitor elbowed her abdomen with his right.
Phesx tackled the man down, covering his head but not his back, which the man battered nonstop until feeling Teon’s left sole land on his face before feeling his groins stomped on by the other. The traitor kicked Teon’s right hip past Phesx’s thighs, making her sway to the side while attempting to break Phesx’s neck next.
Phesx immediately threw his feet into the air, upwards. But he didn’t flee away. Instead, he brought both his knees down. The man widened his eyes, using his right gauntlet to stop the left one as Phesx faced him upside down, and the left gauntlet for the right knee. But just then, Teon dashed back into the fight to completely break all the right ribs Phesx began breaking earlier.
Almost instantly after, Phesx nearly fully supported his body with the top of his head and sent his right hand to the traitor’s shoulder. It became dislocated with a simple snap of his index and middle fingers, with his thumb acting as a weight support.
“AAGH!” The man’s pain tolerance was wearing thin, but he still kicked Teon’s abdomen harshly first, throwing her backwards without air, before kicking Phesx’s left arm. Phesx’s neck almost looked broken as he was bashed away, his body arched a little before falling flat on the ground.
Everyone stood up immediately, but paused right after…
Step step step step step step…!
“!?” Phesx looked at his right as the other Artistas ran from the narrow, divided paths. They rapidly noticed them, somewhat stopping before smirking and yelling. “Yo, Fox, thank you for opening the way for us!” - “Haha, see you at the HQ when the mission’s over!” - “You seem to have had fun, haha. I’ll bring Matías’s head for you, hahahaha!”
“…” Phesx’s gaze lingered on their backs as they rushed to the circular exit, where a tall, waiting figure was overshadowed by the lights outside and the darkness inside. Just plainly waiting…
Phesx’s impenetrable black eyes moved a bit. Meanwhile, the man’s incredibly sweaty body breathed with much difficulty, while Teon had already stood up and prepared to move… either way. Phesx muttered towards them, ensuring they could still hear, “Matías is mine.”
“You see, we can stop this now… If we- if you let me work with you-… you can at least let me help you stop the others. We can think about what to do af-” The man spoke, seeing an aperture. Not only towards freedom, but a worthy death. Yet…
Bang bang bang bang. Phesx grabbed the traitor’s handgun, which had an old-fashioned feature where he had to hold it with one hand to the trigger and the other atop its butt. The handgun recoiled each shot, nearly separating its butt from its center and ammunition feed.
The traitor’s head was riddled with gunshots, along his neck, before falling sideways on the ground; limp. Teon looked at Phesx with upturned eyes, protruding her lips and smelling her philtrum. Phesx kept the handgun before nodding upwards ahead.
“Let’s go. They want to take what is mine.” Phesx walked forward before starting a quick rush forwards. Teon nodded, “Nobody wants to see what’ll happen if they do.”
Step, step, step! Step, step, step!
Phesx and Teon advanced forth. They weren’t recognized as the fastest among other Artistas for nothing. Even though the others had a head start, and the path to the waiting Matías was long, they caught up with the others in less than 40 seconds.
Stolen story; please report.
“Hey- wha?”
Phesx and Teon ran beside the other Artistas. Some smiled, others scoffed, but they all let them pass as they all headed towards the same target. With these many, they would easily kill off the target. The traps and hidden trump cards would also be repelled, whereas they wouldn’t have to die or suffer alone against such.
PUNCH! SLIIIDE~- PAM! THUD!
But it all changed just when they were 20 meters before Matías. Phesx acted, under Teon’s shocked eyes, let alone the others, suddenly punching the fuck out of a slender Artista’s face. The latter tumbled towards a wall, caught by his bike partner. But Phesx rushed at the latter, lifting his right foot, rapidly dashing at her with stomping feet before kicking her in the chest.
Both slammed against the wall, making everyone else stop. Teon didn’t hesitate to move on Phesx’s back as he grabbed the slender Artista’s hair, pulling him up, and started beating him. The other Artista was recuperating her breath. She couldn’t help her bike partner, whose legs Phesx broke apart, placing the Artista’s feet on the ground while leaning on the wall with blood plastered from the female Artista’s head when she was hit.
Phesx simply stomped down like furiously massacring ants, cockroaches, or worms. The other Artistas watched with frowns, some even showed terror in their knitted eyebrows.
Then, when Phesx turned around, and the slender Artista went into a silent shock with his head on his bike partner’s lap, the others became apprehensive. Phesx stepped before Teon, placing his right hand on her left shoulder. “I said Matías is mine. Do you want me to convince you?”
“You can’t be serious…” A tall, strong Artista with defined abs and muscles stepped forth, half-grinning, half-serious. A bronze-skinned handsome fella with his hair painted a strong orange. Phesx said nothing, he just looked at the Artista through the dark before stepping forward.
The Artista went on guard at once. Phesx strode towards him, motioning for a right punch with a slow pace. Teon’s eyes shone. She has just seen something similar.
The Artista silently scoffed, forming a grin. Phesx could just smell his thoughts. As long as this fella defeated him, he’d go after Pheli. It was pathetic, but just that thought gained him a little something as extra.
Phesx saw the young man act quick, throwing a right uppercut. Put Phesx stopped his right arm out of nowhere, letting a handgun exit his sleeves before grabbing the young man’s right wrist with ease, stopping it, and aiming with his right hand at some ribs.
Bang bang. “AH!” The Artista widened his eyes, but before others could step in, Phesx ignored the 2 holes in each side of the fella’s rib cage before grabbing the neck with his right hand. Phesx squeezed with all his strength to make the Artista yield. When it finally happened, Phesx slammed his front onto the ground. The fella’s reddened face became a bit bloodied.
Crack… “AAAH!” Immediately after, Phesx pushed his left foot on the Artista’s neck, placing the back of his right knee above the Artista’s knees, breaking them both in under 3 seconds. The cracking sounds felt so ordinary to him, but to the other Artistas, it was groundbreaking.
What?!
“How dare you! We are brethren, you animal!” Another Artista yelled before lunging towards Phesx, with weapons out and all. Phesx looked back and yelled before letting himself be tackled. “Teon!”
“Fyah!” Teon rolled her eyes before kicking the ground. She sped towards the only guy who had the idea to bring a rifle into this pursuit. She rapidly restrained him with a keylock before breaking his legs, making those knees give out a few noises. She was smoother than Phesx.
An ‘advanced’ brawl ensued. Phesx and Teon broke knee after knee, tangling with everyone, punching and kicking the shit out of some, while breaking the bones of others. Half-and-half.
Phesx fought it off with anyone who came at him, grabbing them as hard as he could before throwing hits at them however he wanted. Even a few times, when many grouped to gang on him, with Teon coming to his rescue a little later, he was barely hit, but he kept landing blows on everyone.
Phesx always used someone’s body as a support pillar, and used it as a shield sometimes, even for the few gunshots exchanged in between. Whoever was his victim next was completely helpless, receiving some of the blows Phesx should’ve taken, out of many he evaded.
Like this, everyone received a good piece of Phesx’s strange, wicked ways to attack, not get hit too much, and weaken his opponents. In this fight of attrition, even if nobody was the winner, the side with the least damage would only be 2 people… or just Phesx alone against them.
Still, Phesx didn’t just take them on alone. Teon saved him from time to time, firing a warning shot with her small pistol until she helped break the legs of 3 other people, while Phesx broke another 2 legs before everyone decided to stop at last.
Some excited their crouching positions around Phesx and Teon, of which Teon crouched after bashing someone into the air with her legs locking around their shoulder and neck. Both sides were sweating. Phesx stood there, looking at them with his lower lip broken in the middle.
This wasn’t from this fight, but when he was slapped squarely on the face by the last traitor before Matías.
5 Artistas looked at him before grabbing their respective bike partners. If it wasn’t enough to break their legs, then the fact everyone who couldn’t walk was the designated rider made everything morally worse. They were without spirit to continue.
Only a young man with short red hair remained. Phesx ignored him as Teon breathed deeply. She was almost exhausted. These many fights were very rare, especially against so many other lagjs tending to kill or severely hurt her, and she almost always had these with her circle of just-as-good fighters like her. Even if not as deadly and fearsome, or skilled.
Phesx walked to the orange-haired young man he left at the side of the wall. Phesx ignored the other red-haired young man and crouched before the former. He scrutinized the Artista’s face with his impenetrable black eyes.
Pam! Punch, pang! Phesx suddenly stood up. His right knee traveled to the Artista’s left cheek. The left eye became bloody, somewhat purple around the eye area, too. Immediately after, Phesx crouched back down as the other Artista wanted to step in, but a casual glance from Teon stopped him.
Phesx punched the orange-haired fella’s right cheek, leaving the poor Artista even more dumbfounded. But Phesx wasn’t done. He squeezed the throat again, bringing his face close to the Artista and darted his eyes on the fella’s face again. Then, he slapped the same cheek.
The Artista felt the pain and impact of such a move, nearly driving him unconscious. Phesx saw the end result, with the neck somewhat hurt, unnaturally resting, but still alive. Satisfied, he stood up and walked back to Teon, but not without telling the other Artista, “Won’t you get him out?”
“How could you do this? Do you know who we are? Our group-” The young man stopped yelling midway through without anyone’s interruptions. He knew. Why bother talking about his circle, when Teon was right there?
“You can still walk.” Phesx said, as if he suddenly found out that was a problem. The red-haired Artista grabbed the other of similar aesthetics before dragging him out, just walking-fleeing out of this damned sewer.
“Let me,” Phesx said to Teon, who continued to sweat and breathing heavily, still crouching on the ground. She nodded and watched him go. For some reason, she felt she didn’t need to offer her small pistol.
Phesx walked to Matías, who looked below at the sewer’s further underground area. The canal they were from was like a spring, whereas the other side from the circular hole, where the spring fell, joined a large, wide river. Matías looked between right below the hole he was peeking from, to the beginning of the ‘river’, a few meters above where they stood, and dozens away.
“Looking for the ‘envoy’ to bring you into the Lyclan Sea? One of the bikes dealt with it before coming here. They should be as good riders as I am, or they wouldn’t have arrived so fast.” Phesx said, putting on new gloves after his were smeared with filth of different kinds. Mostly after the fights.
“…” Matías looked up at Phesx, wearing a stern, emotionless expression that grew lost in perdition. “That’s usually how it goes, eh?”
“Mm?” Phesx hummed, slightly protruding his lips, and finishing pulling down on the new gloves. Matías looked relaxed as he faced him, “Whenever a few traitors seek to flee, they are outsmarted by their ‘natal’ lagj organization. But, do you know how many secret orgs have no deserters?”
“??” Phesx frowned at Matías, the latter replied to himself. “Only the hoog secret organizations.”
Fwip- step-. Phesx expanded his eyes. His pupils constricted. Matías moved forth, leaning with his upper body as his right foot slid backwards, like pedaling. A momentous prowess followed Matías’s body as he lunged forward. Phesx instinctively lifted his right hand, unprepared. Matías ignored it, but he also sent a punch from his right fist.
“…” Teon slightly frowned when seeing this. She prepared to stand up and go after Phesx, who might just be punched into the dangerous, semi-endless sewers further underneath Lýmoca. She began the run…
Phesx directed his considerably smaller fist towards Matias’s. The latter didn’t bother moving it away and simply prepared to continue hammering it down on Phesx’s sternum after breaking his thin forearm. He wouldn’t kill the boy, in Imán’s stead, but he would teach him a lesson.
Pfsst. A sound echoed in the 3 pairs of ears. Matías frowned, but Phesx looked up at him with casual, impassive eyes. Teon slowly stopped running, coming to a halt 3 meters before them.
From Phesx’s right forearm, under his sleeve. A blade shot forth. It was fast, and it gleamed for a moment under the outside’s ceiling bright lights. It looked like a snake flashing in zigzags like lightning. Streaking from Phesx’s sleeve into Matías’s knuckles. It went through seamlessly under his skin, showing for a moment.
The sound of the flesh being penetrated was barely even heard. But Matías could feel a hot sensation from how fast it went below his knuckles to ruin the rest of his arm, it was very long. Phesx felt the blade reach near the elbow.
Without breaking off eye contact, Phesx, who stopped the strong fist from someone like Matías with his comet, grabbed Matías’s limp wrist, took his comet out, and directed it below Matías’s neck. However, Matías moved his left hand to grab Phesx’s right wrist.
Pfsst- spluuuurt. Phesx’s left wrist flashed forth, clearly faster than Matías. Bending his hand, Phesx pushed his wrist onto Matías’s left palm. Right away, Phesx penetrated it with another comet, stabbing Matías’s left upper shoulder a moment after.
Phesx looked at Matías’s eyes for a couple of seconds before casually stabbing the latter’s neck from below, with it coming out of his nape.
“Uwwaaagghhh…” Matías’s eyes went upturned. He then exhaled while falling on his knees. Phesx couldn’t with the weight, so he let Matías fall but controlled the angle he was falling on. Then, as soon as those knees touched the ground, Phesx pushed him against the entrance wall. Half their bodies illuminated, the other half remaining dark.
“Mfgh,” Phesx exclaimed. His left forearm retracted the comet after the plate read a movement from his veins. But Phesx didn’t have to kneel to meet Matías almost face to face as he fell powerlessly, with his life force slowly drained.
“Ahh… boy… This secret world… this start… Let me tell you something for you, only, junior…” Matías spoke with a breathy voice, so weak and feeble, with barely any air. “Even though I know you tried to help… it’s no good… You should save yourself… Tell Imán… I’ll be waiting here… for him.” Matías slowly closed his eyes, but they jolted open a little each time, never fully closing.
“…”
Sheefth… swwlip. Phesx looked at Matías eyes and neck, up and down with his mouth closed, before taking his right comet out, penetrating his lungs right after. Then, he returned it to Matías’s neck, burying it even deeper through another angle. The blade struck further above his head through his nape this time.
Phesx felt the large body finally cede to death, welcoming it. Teon looked down, her eyelids drooped, and her heart feeling a bit vacant. The job was done.
Thud. Phesx let Matías fall to the ground before taking his phone out. He couldn’t carry the body before the fights alone, let alone now.
…