章 20: I am Not Giving Up!

10 advance chapters in my Pat.reon. Pat.reon.com/Saintbarbido. My boy over there Just hit a whole new ceiling of power. It's crazy! Chapter 30 also contains, spoiler alert, Dormammu.

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(General P.O.V)

The battle to decide the fate of the city was well underway. Humanity had never seen a fight of this magnitude before and it left them all scared, excited and hopeful. Hopeful because their eyes couldn't leave the screen. Couldn't look away from the World's first hero. Valiant was giving it his all against a foe that would have made short work of any nation's army. And it was taking a toll. The live footage taken by the news chopper was not all that clear but it was just enough top see the devastation caused by a fight between…gods.

For that is what they were. Every punch caused a building to crumble. Though that was mostly caused by the creature. It was clear to anyone that Valiant was doing his best to undermine the Monster. Dishing out impressive blows and showcasing martial skills that boggled the mind. Those were just the few times their eyes could keep up with the fight. At other times shockwaves would blast out without a point of origin.

There was one common thing, in everyone's mind. The world was never going to be the same again.

(Brian's P.O.V)

My suit was torn up completely. Displaying my upper body for everyone to see. Luckily I had avoided the destruction of my mask as best I could but that wasn't much of an achievement when compared to the rest of my body. I had a huge cut running from my collarbone to a point just above my navel.

A stab wound on my thigh that made every movement a torture. Blood was also running down my forehead blinding me in my left eye. My body felt as if it couldn't throw another punch. My muscles cried out at the slightest exertion as I dodged blows I couldn't afford to take and tanked those I could. I'd thought Tai Chi was enough to bridge the gap between our strengths but it was barely enough to keep me alive.

The Goblin was too fast. Fast enough to keep me on my toes and more. My ki was depleted and all I had was my body to fall back on. In comparison, he didn't look any worse for wear. Infact I could tell he was getting better at fighting back. His stance had become solid and he'd started reading some of my moves. Despite that he had cracks running down his carapace, which was the only reason I knew I still had hope.

For every 3 blows he launched at me, I dodged one and blocked two, going back to the basics of echo. I knew the principle of the skill and just how overpowered it actually was. Losing it had been like losing my main attack.

So I used the fight to the death I found myself in to refine my energy control back to what it was and more. Strength was leaving my body but I was regaining what I'd lost.

I ducked a knee spike by flipping away from him. My legs hit the concrete building behind me and I used the momentum to spring myself back. An echo powered punch to the face and his head was thrown to the side. He stumbled and I used that chance to coat my fingers into the little ki I'd recovered, spearing right through his chest.

He cried out in pain and gripped my wrist before my palm could dig in completely. I pulled back my arm but he didn't want to let go. The pressure was becoming unbearable at this point and I knew he was gonna break it. So I twisted it and reversed the hold. Pulling him closer earned me another stab wound to the side of the shoulder. It wasn't deep and I swallowed the pain.

Before he knew what was happening, I slammed his body down onto the ground in a judo hold. Energy swirled around me and I stomped out with my leg onto his neck, applying the now achievable Double Echo. His spine broke with an audible sound and immediately, his limbs went slack. I stumbled over to a metal rebar that was sticking out of a broken wall section. I then poured the rest of my ki, reinforcing it greatly. I didn't feel like it was enough so I pulled even more which led me to drawing from my vital energy until the rebar glowed blue and became hot.

I dragged my body back to The Goblin who I'm sure had already started to regenerate and with one rage filled movement, stabbed the rebar straight into his neck. Effectively preventing him from healing his spine for a few more minutes at least. I lost strength and fell down breathing shallowly. The wound on my chest was bleeding profusely and it was getting harder to take in air.

"What…have…you done to me?!"

The Goblin monstrosity shouted out at me. Spewing out many expletives and threats that I didn't hear. Not out of mockery though. I legit couldn't hear a word of what he was saying. It was like my head was submerged in water.

what's happening? I brought a shaky hand to my face and all I saw was a blur. What had I done? My body felt so weak and it wasn't the exhaustion. This was something else completely. I came to a terrifying conclusion. My actions had led me to forcefully pull almost every shred of energy I had within me from my cells to enhance that rebar. But I had overextended, drawing out even my vital energy. A move done out of desperation and I now I was paying for it.

I could feel myself fading away. My thought process growing slower and slower and I knew that if I didn't do something...it was over for me.

True Reveal activated on it's own out of desperation. I was seeking to understand how I could stop this feeling of lethargy. My gaze speared right through my bones and flesh and I saw that my cells had lost most of their glow. There...was nothing...I could do. Was I going to die?! Just like that? Not because I was killed but because I was dumb?

What about my dreams? My sexy Russian spy? My family? Could I leave Peter alone to face the aftermath of my actions? By all counts, our fight had destroyed a whole lotta buildings. And it was more likely than not, that humanity wouldn't take kindly to the presence of enhanced individuals who could demolish a block like it was nothing. Peter and I were the most visible so the attention would be brought unto us. There was going to be a manhunt from the government as well as other organizations.

Was this it? My end? I felt like laughing.

It was by chance that I looked around and saw the metal rebar sticking out of Osborn's neck. Still restricting his movements. I knew it would only be a few moments before he adapted and probably make the need for a spine obsolete. That would be the prelude to destruction. Peter still wasn't strong enough to stop him. I guess I was going to fail on my promise to kill him.

Wait a minute...True Reveal showed me something different.

Wisps of energy were escaping his body from where the rebar was sticking out. My eyes widened in realization. Putting all my vital energy into reinforcing that rebar was somehow causing this. The energy was his life force and it was steadily leaving him. Life force was what I needed. True Reveal was cut off to save the last bit of stamina and mental energy I had. I then stretched out my hand and put all my remaining strength into crawling towards him.

I just needed to get to him. This was a chance. A chance to save myself. There was a high probability it would work and I wasn't going to give up and accept my fate. I still had my essence of a cultivator and it allowed me to devour any mystical energy.

I finally arrived near Osborn and my hands grasped the glowing metal rebar. The familiar heat appeared in my hands and burned my palm but I didn't let go.

"What are you doing!!"

I used my will to grasp the energy inside him and just pulled.

"No. Stop! We...can work something out!"

I ignored his cries for plea.

His life force was strong. Very strong. But it was tainted. I didn't have a choice however. If I had had enough time I could have refined and added it to my own reserves or even created another mental skill or upgraded my Interface. All I could do now was to just devour the energy. My dying cells took it in like a man dying of thirst finally getting water.

My body felt light as I continued to pull. Osborn's cries increased in intensity right before his body started to disintegrate before me. Relief fell upon me suddenly and darkness claimed me. My last thought before I went under was, ' I'm never doing that again.'

(General P.O.V)

Spiderman picked Valiant up. He'd been shocked once he'd seen Valiant collapsed next to a piece of rebar that was sticking out of the ground. He'd looked around cautiously, trying to spot the huge creature that they'd been fighting but saw nothing.

His danger sense wasn't tingling too so he came to the conclusion that only Valiant knew what had happened. It was improbable that the monster had just left without killing both of them so Spiderman was going to have wait for Valiant to wake up.

He looked around at the destruction caused. The impact that their fight had had was going to be felt from all over the world. Things would probably change quite a bit. Peter wasn't stupid. He understood that the tentative silent permission the government had given them to fight crime was going to be revoked as they took a more pro-active approach to dealing with them.

He couldn't even blame them. Looking around he understood the fear and outcry that was going to hit the nation. 2 individuals had been the cause of all this destruction? The protests that will be caused by normal civilians was enough to make Peter sweat. That wasn't to mention how the government would want to get hands on them to figure out how they got their powers.

Those fears reminded Peter of a talk he'd had with his brother. What they needed right now was to leverage power. Helping out as Vigilantes would have a direct impact on only the individuals that they saved. However, if they could actually create a company...they would touch more lives and make the world a better place that way.

That didn't mean that Peter was going to give up being Spiderman. If anything, it made him determined to be an even better hero. More power was needed to stop these sort of situations from happening again. That and to weather the storm that was coming.

He heard the sound of vehicles coming so he shot out a web and with Valiant in his hands and left the scene.