The anomaly of a supernatural, the man who himself does not know what kind of supernatural he is, stops in his tracks all of a sudden.
The Hellfire Gabriel Washington, however, keeps going with his fists charged to bash his opponent's head on the ground, and rather rapidly as well. With this speed, within the time it takes for a person to blink, the Hellfire would already have destroyed his opponent.
That is, at least, how it would go most of the time.
The identity of his opponent in this battle commands enough agility to make it an exception.
Gabriel: "Tsk!"
Clicking his tongue on a reflex as his opponent dodges his punch by a hair's breadth, the Hellfire focuses his impact that would otherwise go to waste towards the ground so the consequential gust of wind formed from the impact causes dust to fly in all directions - making it a battlefield harder to fight in.
Before the dust even reaches his eyes though, the commander of the Spectre army jumps away and lands at a good enough distance from the Hellfire.
Abgere, using the singular moment Dyne would need to rebalance himself after bringing his feet back to the ground, rushes him as well. But, unlike Gabriel, he tries not to punch him with high impact but to act like that's what he intends to do so he can blindside Dyne.
And he almost succeeds too.
By the time Gabriel's eyes are completely refocused on the Dyne's new position, Abgere manages to throw a rock aimed right at the Spectre's eyes without having him realize that is what he intended to do.
Dyne, realizing too late his opponent's move, can only try to dodge once more by jumping away just like before.
By a millisecond's difference, Dyne manages to dodge the rock and get further from Gabriel and also far from Abgere.
Gabriel: "Tsk!"
Abgere: "Tsk!"
At that moment, the two click their tongues because they realize that they missed an important chance and will now have to face not just that one man but the entire Spectre army.
But,
Dyne: "Stand back!"
Orders their leader with a voice colder than ice and words louder than thunder.
Dyne: "None of you is allowed to do anything to assist me or to harm them. You all are to just stand back and come up with the best strategy you can think of for finding the Phoenix."
As their orders were made clear, their words were lost from their mouths.
Dyne: "Also, if you can, try to get in contact with the other group."
And with that final order, Spectre Dyne stands straight up and looks at the two who just tried to take him down and almost succeeded, and says,
Dyne: "Pathetic!"
Gabriel: "?!"
Abgere: "?!"
Dyne: "You two are truly pathetic."
He says so with a straight-forward voice, giving no room to doubt the cold sincerity of his words and feelings.
Gabriel: "You really think so, huh?"
Gabriel realizes that the opponent he is dealing with isn't meant to have any unnecessary pride within him. It's unlikely for him to have been programmed with something like that in his mind. And, the seeming truthfulness of his words prevents it from being a lie meant to provoke them.
So, if he says these words, he truly means them.
Gabriel: "I guess that's another person I don't understand at all."
He says and readies his fists by charging them up with energy. Abgere, on the other hand, remains silent and vigilant throughout as he waits for the right opportunity to attack.
Dyne: "Ha!"
On one side, a Hellfire is ready to blow him away with constant attacks and on the other side, an anomaly of a man with multiple abilities is ready to take him out if his foot stumbles just one time. It's truly not an easy situation to be in, even for the leader of the strongest army in the world.
And yet, he scoffs as if he does not feel threatened at all.
Dyne: "You underestimate your death, fools!"
Says the Spectre in his usual voice as he stands firm without any defensive measures, waiting for the Hellfire to attack him.
But the Hellfire, seeing that, hesitates.
Gabriel: "..."
Thoughts of his opponent hiding an ace up his sleeve or having set a trap for him to fall into - they all lead him to back off for the moment and get more defensive while trying to charge up more energy in his hands but this time manipulating the heat around him as well.
However,
Dyne: "Well, what's this now? Guts, the one thing you had, is now gone too?"
Dyne asks him in the same straightforward voice with no mockery in his intent but an unmissable deriding look.
Abgere: "..."
Witnessing all this, Abgere says nothing either but definitely becomes more cautious. He, like anyone else, can tell that the Spectre known as Dyne has the power to back up that deriding and condescending look.
But, even so, that can't be the end of it.
So, finally being ready,
Gabriel: "I wonder how Ghosts deal with fire."
Gabriel Washington says so as he shoots a small ball of fire, a miniature sun in fact, at Dyne.
However, instead of dodging or defending against it, Dyne merely brings his palm up to the miniature sun, covers it slowly around it and encloses the sun in his hands, leaving all the onlookers gawking in surprise even though most of them had seen him doing things like this before.
Abgere: "Wha-"
His words get stuck in his mouth as he sees Spectre Dyne's hands burning but his hold around the miniature sun not weakening at all, as if the pain of burning isn't even being felt by him.
Dyne: "This is why I said it before - Pathetic!"
Says Dyne as he opens up his palm, revealing that the miniature sun is gone and his hands that took the damage are rapidly healing.
Gabriel: "..."
Abgere: "..."
It's no secret that he's powerful but seeing him in action would still leave most people gawking in awe just like his current opponents.
Ethan Kales knew this. He knew that this fight is likely to turn out this way. He knew that both his allies will be slapped back down to earth if they fight Spectre Dyne.
Even though his planning coupled with Sneha's well-timed execution of them worked back on the island, the one big factor working in their favour that time was that Dyne underestimated them.
He didn't underestimate their individual abilities. But, he underestimated their combined ability.
This time, he definitely won't make the same mistake.
Yet, even knowing all of that, there was no choice but to leave Dyne to the two of them. And so, he did.
But, already, the tables are turning, and it's not a very beneficial development.
But, already, the tables are turning, and it's not a very beneficial development.
Dyne: "So, what was that before? How do Ghosts deal with fire, you were wondering?"
Having extinguished a miniature sun with his hands and those hands almost healed back up completely, he says with the same tone as before which, for some reason, feels heavier regardless.
Dyne: "Well, we have problems against it if it's used the right way. I know I have nightmares because of a fire attack once done on me."
What he mentions is the fiery hypnosis Barry had done to him, and while his nightmares come from the hypnosis and not the fire itself, that doesn't matter in the context of what he is trying to say.
Dyne: "But, you see, if not used well, fire is nothing but a small nuisance, an ant sting that hurts a little but doesn't do much damage."
If Ethan Kales was here, he may have mocked Dyne by saying how particular ant stings can be very dangerous, but he isn't here. Those who are here are just two men with no sense of humour and nothing but the current battle on their mind.
Realizing this, Dyne also realizes that there's a part of him that wants Ethan, or someone like him, to be here.
Is that because he craves a challenge that these two aren't providing? Or, is that because he craves revenge against that boy who has never lost to him despite being so much weaker every time they have clashed, directly or indirectly?
In either case though,
Gabriel: "Enough!"
The opponents he has right now are no Ethan Kales, and that is plain as day to see.
One is a Hellfire so he is obviously one of the strongest people in the world. The other is someone who killed two Hellfires so he is no joke either.
But,
Dyne: "How foolish!"
Having faced completely outlandish tricks of Ethan that somehow end up bringing results, there's no fun in battling these blandly powerful fighters.
So, as the Hellfire charges at him with full force ready to direct his attack in whichever direction he chooses to dodge in, as he comes with that attack that is sure to do heavy damage against pretty much everyone, Dyne merely stands there sighing.
The Hellfire does not pay him any mind as he keeps himself completely focused on his attack, which he lands with a heavy impact, or not.
Gabriel: "Wha-!!!"
Even though everything about the attack had gone perfectly until the last moment, when the time comes for the Hellfire's hands to connect with the Spectre's helm, they just go past it like it's not even there.
Abgere: "!!!"
And, the same happens with the rest of his body.
He just goes past Dyne like Dyne is merely an illusion, which then reminds him of every time he had seen things like these in fiction.
Gabriel: "B-but, Ghosts can't use such an ability to this extent!"
It's true that by making themselves thinner than air, Ghost can bypass many things, including attacks aimed at them. It is a method often shown in fiction.
There's no way Gabriel wouldn't have known of it or not remembered it. He obviously did. And, because he knew and remembered it, he made sure to put so much energy into his hands that the Aura around him would shake, causing this technique to be nulled and the Spectre to be hurt regardless.
But,
Dyne: "Most Ghosts can't. I can."
And by that, the leader of the Spectres means that ONLY he can.
Dyne: "Now,"
Casually doing the same thing his opponent did but putting energy into his leg rather than his hands, he rotates in a circle to give himself momentum and uses the gained momentum to kick the Hellfire in his right rib, effectively breaking it.
Gabriel: "AAAGGGHHH!!!"
It happens so fast and while the Hellfire was still in shock of having his attack missed that he is not able to dodge in time.
But, the enemy of his enemy considers this an opportunity.
After all, Spectre Dyne seems completely focused on Gabriel and has just dealt a powerful attack which should mean that he will not be able to immediately do another, thanks to lag.
So, this would be the perfect opportunity for Abgere to attack.
And he does attack.
But,
Dyne: "Did you think I forgot about you that easily?"
The fist charged with lightning is stopped by a perfect block and in return,
Dyne: Give yourself more credit!"
A fist charged with the purest essence of a Ghost's power, Soul Energy, comes flying towards his gut but with no time to defend.
Abgere: "AGGGGHHH!!!"
Even Abgere is unable to hold back as his guts shake with pain and his body suffers the aftershock of it.
And, with both his opponents on the ground, Spectre Dyne says,
Dyne: "Come on, stand up! If you two lose with just that, I am going to be only more frustrated."
Slowly, holding their broken parts with their hands and still writhing in pain, the two stand up, first Gabriel and then Abgere. But, they have been made aware of the fact that they are both weaker than their opponent, of the fact that what they have been doing until now won't work anymore, that they need to do something they haven't done before.
Gabriel: "Ha!"
Scoffs Gabriel at the idea of it.
Gabriel: "I really wish things had never come to this. This is humiliating!"
Abgere: "I feel the same way, which also disgusts me all the more."
Abgere shares his tone and his idea as to what they need to do.
Dyne: "... Hah!"
Gabriel is one of the people on Abgere's hitlist and Abgere is an object of vengeance for Gabriel's fury.
These two are enemies. Though they have been allies of the third faction for their personal gain, they haven't been allies of each other. They have always been enemies.
And that hasn't changed.
But, maybe because they were forced to work together for the past some days, they have come to realize each other's potential.
So, they know that they can defeat their overwhelmingly powerful enemy if they do what neither of them wants to do.
Gabriel: "Tsk!"
Jumping away from the Spectre and on the opposite sides of him as well.
Abgere: "Tsk!"
The two then run back towards him with their attacks.
Dyne: "Huh?"
And the Spectre is left dumbfounded as the two enemies coordinate their attacks, teaming up so perfectly as if they have trained for it, and launch an attack that even he will end up not being able to dodge or defend against.
The carnival of madness has only begun.
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