Chapitre 24: Lightning Stance
Running in the middle of the forest. I was chasing the Outsider.
"Hey, stop running you, coward!"
"Tsk."
He stops running and swings his blade horizontally. He's aiming at my neck. I slide my knee on the ground and lean back to dodge the blade. After that, I immediately stand up and jump towards him. I clench my hand and push it towards him. He jumps back. I place my two hands on the ground.
"Electrocute!"
The sky becomes dark and the cloud covers the sun. A bolt of lightning strikes the ground where the Outsider standing. The Outsider jumps to the left and disappears. He uses his invisibility.
*Why he has two ability? No, maybe the curse is from the other one.*
"Tsk! Show yourself, you coward."
"Die!"
I hear the Outsider behind me. I look back and he's in the air behind me while raising his one arm. I lean sideward to dodge the attack then spin towards him and try to hit him with the back of my palm but he disappears again.
"Tsk."
"You won't defeat me."
"Don't get full of yourself, Outsider."
"You should run with your comrades. Fighting me alone is your worst mistake."
*I have to think.*
"If you give up, I might let you live!"
The Outsider appears on my left and thrust his blade at me. I jump back to dodge him. He disappears again. Then he appears on my front and tries to slash my neck. He failed and disappear again. This scenario repeats again and again.
*If this keeps up, I'm sure I'll be hit by his blade.*
I raise my right hand in the air.
"Let see if you can still use that invisibility of yours. Storm Call!"
The sky becomes darker than before. The bolt of lightning strikes the ground randomly.
One of the strikes of lightning hit the ground where the Outsider is, making him flew in the air. Now I can see him. Before he lands his feet on the ground, I run towards him and try to grab his neck with my left hand. He swings his blade. I pull my hand and spin counter-clockwise and hit his nape using my elbow. He flew away and roll on the ground.
"How's that?"
"Not bad.", the Outsider said while cracking his neck.
After that, he lowers his body and goes to a fighting stance.
*He's getting serious now.*
He dashes towards me and swings his blade multiple times. He's so fast that I couldn't dodge all of his attacks.
I jump back to stay away from him. My body is full of wounds now.
"Can you still fight?"
"Heh! This is nothing."
This kind of wound really does not bother me. I already experience greater pain than this.
The Outside dash again. This time I do the same. Creating a sword-like object using my lightning. I pointed the tip to his chest and push it with a strong thrust. The Outsider swings his blades towards me. Our weapons collide with each other. As they collide, my weapon slowly disappearing.
"Now, die!"
"This is bad!"
When my weapon disappears, I try to jump back but the Outsider dash towards me immediately and swings his blade many times.
"Guh!"
"You won't able to get out alive now."
The wounds in my body are three times more now.
"Shut up. I'm not done yet."
*I have to keep my distance from him.*
Using my lightning, I create a bow and arrow object. After that, I run towards the trees.
"You can't run from me."
The Outsider chases me.
"Here he goes."
Putting the arrow on the bow. I look back and I saw the Outsider running towards me. I pull the string and aim at him. Letting go of the string, the arrow fly towards him. He immediately changes his track to dodge the arrow but when it lands on trees, it explodes, creating a giant ball of lightning.
It hits the Outsider making him slow.
"Tsk!"
He clicked his tongue.
I shoot him more. As the arrow lands and explodes. He covers his face with his arms.
*Now it's my chance.*
I change my direction, going to the west then south, making our distance close a little. He's still looking around, finding me. I hide behind the trees and keeping the noise I created to the minimum. As he looks in the opposite direction where I'm hiding. I ready the bow and arrow and aim at him. But before I release the arrow, he disappears.
"What?"
"There you are!"
The Outsider is already at my front holding his blade and aiming to my chest. I immediately grab the arrow and thrust it into his arm. As the arrow lands, it explodes making the Outsider flew away from me. Thankfully I have resistance to my own amulet power.
*This place is full of plants and trees. How I can't hear him?*
"Trying to hide from me huh. What a fool.", he said while standing up.
"Ehhh? Hide? It's called strategy you moron."
He lowers his stance like he's ready to fight.
"I'll make sure you will die this time."
"Try it, if you can."
Dashing towards. He swings both of his blades diagonally creating a cross-line pattern. I immediately create two blades using my lightning and block his attack. We push each other making us jump back. Before the blade disappears. I throw it to him and make another two. He blocks the upcoming blade. I dash towards him and thrust my two blades aiming at his chest. He moves his body sideward to dodge my blade and grab my collar.
"Huh?"
He lifts me and smashes me to the ground.
"Guh!"
He holds tight his blade on his left hand and thrust it towards my chest. I try to move to dodge it but he was so fast that he still hit my shoulder.
"Got you now."
"Ahhh!"
He pushes down the blade towards my shoulder.
"Now, do you regret letting go of your comrades and fighting me alone?"
"Shut up."
I grab his neck and push my arm downward to throw him up.
"What the?!"
"Don't get full of yourself, fool."
"Tsk!"
The Outsider stands up and dashes towards me. He swings his blades again multiple times. I dodge all of it.
"What? How?"
Dashing towards him. I clench my hand and push it towards his stomach.
"Guh!"
The punch is strong enough to send him away. He hit himself to the large tree.
"What the hell is that? Your fist... is so hot."
He stands up and goes to his fighting stance.
"Is that your most powerful attack? Sorry, but that's not enough to defeat me!"
"Lightning Stance... One percent."
________________________________________________________________________________________
"So... are we suppose to wait like this?", Bryer asked.
"Well, we have no choice. If we get near to them and Ernesta use that ability. We're totally dead."
"Ren is right, we should wait here."
"Darnnn... I want to do something to help Relaine."
"Just why Relaine can control her ability so well but when it comes to Lightning Stance, she's toasting all of the things around her."
Ren is right. Relaine is known for being able to control her amulet's ability perfectly. But only us and our Commander, Steve, and also Ernesta, know her Lightning Stance.
The reason why she can't control it is that, first, this is her newest ability that she discovered. Second, since this is dangerous and harms anything around her when using it, she can't practice this ability. And lastly, unlike her other ability, this one works the opposite. All of her ability except to Lightning Stance is coming from her amulet, or sometimes she's getting it from the storm. Her amulet giving her resistance to lightning so she can't be harmed or killed by her own amulet ability. In short, the lightning is only flowing around her body, specifically outside her body. Where between them it is the barrier that her amulet cast to her in order to protect her from the lightning.
But this Lightning Stance is different. Instead of coming from the amulet, the lightning that she produces is from her body herself. In other words, her amulet's ability and she become one. Making her unstoppable and uncontrollable. This makes it hard to use. We misunderstood one thing, the barrier that we thought giving Relaine a resistance against the lightning. This thing is actually not a barrier to protect Relaine but to limit her power. Because of this powerful ability, she limits the power that is release to the maximum of ten percent. I don't know whether she's going to use a higher percentage of her power against the Outsider she's fighting now.
There's one thing in my mind.
*Why she's not a Perfect Match?*
A Perfect Match is where the user and the amulet are perfect to each other. It's like you're born to use this amulet. Maybe Relaine is actually one. Or she just actually practices until she reaches this level of her right now.
"What we gonna do, Rina?", Ren asked.
"I hate to say this but, it's really better to not do anything than to become a burden."
"You should just say 'we just going to wait'."
*Smack!*
"Ouch."
________________________________________________________________________________________
*What's going on? How can she still fight like this?*
Running from the girl named Relaine.
She's moving with incredible speed, and whenever she touches me. It's too hot and I was getting shocked. It's like she becomes the lightning itself.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Huh?"
She's already behind me. She grabs my neck and slams me to the ground. I feel electricity that burning my neck.
"W-What... are you?"
"Stop asking some stupid question."
"Tsk!"
I lift my legs and kick her. She immediately blocks it with her hand. I push her so that I can free my neck. After that, I use my ability to vanish.
"Hiding is useless."
*What she's going to do?*
"Lightning Stance! Ten percent!*
After that, she running randomly with incredible speed. I can't see where is she right now.
She's running all the way around until she finds me.
*I have to get away.*
With my other ability. I can make all the noise around me mute. In short, no matter what I do, she won't hear me.
But before I could take a step. She already hit me while she's running.
"There you are."
*How can I survive to her?*
________________________________________________________________________________________
"Using that invisibility of yours is pointless. You can't run away right now."
"Don't get full of yourself."
"I should the one who's saying that."
*Let's try higher now.*
"Lightning Stance! Fifty percent."
The lightning flowing inside my body is getting stronger.
I dash towards him. He immediately uses his invisibility to hide.
"Electro! Smash!"
I smash the ground with my fist causing an explosion. The Outsider flew away because of that.
Before he can land, I dash towards him and punch his stomach causing him to fly away again. He hit himself on the ground.
"Now, deactivate the curse or you'll die."
"Heh! Whether I do it or not. You'll just kill me after all."
"Sorry, but I'm that evil as you think. I'll let you go if you deactivate the curse. Then that's it unless you do again something evil. That makes me kill you."
"Sorry, but that does not convince."
"I have no choice then."
The Outsider stands up and jumps on me. Holding tight to his blades, he raises both of his arms and swings down towards me. I create a battle-ax and swing it vertically to him. But before it hits him, he disappears again.
Sensing the change of air on my left side. I move the battle-ax to my left. The Outsider appears and swings his blades towards me.
"You see that coming?"
"Heh, I may not look like, but I already experience many fights than you can imagine."
The Outsider jump back. Before he disappears again. I dash towards him.
"Taste this! Lightning Stance! Eighty percent!"
I punch his stomach upward sending him to the air.
I jump towards him. Because of the power of lightning inside me. The jump is so high that I miss the Outsider.
*I can't still control this power. Well, it doesn't matter.*
The Outsider holds tight his blade on his left hand and aims towards me.
"This is the end, Outsider."
*I should try higher.*
"Lightning Stance! One.Hundred! Percent!"
While I'm in the air, I remember what Steve asked me.
*Why do you want to become strong?*
Ever since that morning, I can't stop thinking of that. But as I use this ability, I remember now.
"You stupid Steve! This is your fault for me remembering that thing!"
Dashing towards him with an incredible speed. I straighten my palm and thrust it towards his stomach.
As I land, I look back at the Outsider. He's still in the air, split into two. Slowly going down to the ground.
"It ends now huh."
I fell down on my knee. I touch my forehead. It's so hot. I feel dizzy.
"Relaine!"
Someone shouted. That voice is coming from a girl. It's Rina.
I look up at her. My vision around me and to Rina is spinning.
"Don't move. Let us take care of you now."
"I-I kill him."
"Yeah. Good job."
"I feel sleepy."
"Really? You must be tired."
Rina patted my head. She was holding me tight.
"How is she?"
"She's okay. But we still need to bring her to hospital."
"Okay."
"Hey, Rina."
"Y-Yeah?"
"Goodnight."
After that, I fell asleep.
_______________________________________
After killing the Outside. The curse in Miss Altina's body disappears. She's already been discharged from the hospital. While, me, here I am laying on the bed after fighting that Outsider.
"RELAINE!!!!"
"Geh!"
That shout.
I can hear Ernesta shouting while running towards my room. The door is open. I saw her stop at the front. Her feet slide a little after stopping.
"Yo!"
I raise my hand a little.
"Hey, you okay? Do you need anything? Food? Drinks? Medicine? House? Bathroom? Me?"
"Hey, hey, wait! What the heck are you talking about? I'm okay!"
*Did she just included herself in the option?*
"I see... well then!"
Ernesta crawls to my bed and sits beside me.
"....What are you doing?"
"It's been a while since I come to your room. It's very clean and neat. Woah, the books are doubled now."
"Well, unlike your room that's always dirty and all the things are scattered on the floor including your-"
"Woah! You bought new underwear!"
"Hey, don't touch those! And when did you just come there?"
Ernesta went back to bed after that.
"Hehe. Hey."
"Yeah?"
"I already have permission."
"Huh? What permission?"
"We can sleep over now!!!", Ernesta shouted with an excited look on her face.
"S-Sleep over?"
"Yeah. You don't want to?"
"Eh? No. You can."
"Really? Yey!"
"Why are you so excited about this? We're just sleeping."
"Of course, I am. Relaine plus sleepover equals THE BEST!"
"Eh..."
*Well, since Ernesta is here. My night maybe become exciting... but annoying.*
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone