บท 28: Marbles

"Well, that's what you get for being a prick. Tell me, how's the pain, huh?" Chump's smug face revealed his thoughts.

Ephiron, Clem, Thalia, Zippy, and all the bunnies were caught off guard.

Ephiron was impressed by the situation, his gaze fixed on Asaga. Thalia jumped back, holding Ephiron's hand tighter in fear. Clem kept his eyes on Chump, trying to discern his actions to no avail.

Zippy was jumping with excitement, just like the other bunnies hopping around the trio.

Thalia voiced her concern, asking, "Ephiron, are they okay?" Ephiron assessed the situation, glanced at the people beside them, and nodded. Zippy followed his lead, staying composed and shouting something in their language to keep the bunnies relaxed.

"I didn't overdo it, did I? Being a dragon and fire type... Well, it is what it is... Now we wait for the mark to... do something, I guess..." A strong slam interrupted his thoughts, and he looked towards the front.

Asaga's claw was pinned to the ground. She slowly lifted herself. Her face and neck had black marks, but her skin didn't seem to be affected that much, not even reaching third-degree burns, just red skin.

"Why is she not at least unconscious? That was a truck exploding in her face!" Chump saw her getting up and immediately reacted by continuing to write more code on his laptop.

Asaga chuckled at the humans' desperate reactions and hurried movements. "Not gonna lie, that was a neat trick. But a fireball of barely tier 2 won't do-"

"BOOP!" Chump shouted in frustration while slamming the "enter" key on his keyboard.

Asaga reacted by placing her right claw between her and the car engine, which exploded once again point-blank in her face. But this time, it only pushed her a few meters. She stood where she was pushed, her high heels breaking the asphalt as she held herself to the ground once more.

This time, she pushed the remaining cars aside and jumped up. "You dare to interrupt the princess in the middle of her speech?! That's it, I wanted to have fun, but since you're going for the kill, I shall as well!"

"How in the How are your heels... Oh, forget it! It's always happening! I swear to—"

Asaga cut him off, "Shut up! Deal with it. If you want to be chatty mid-fight, you should let the others be too!" Her wings burst into flames, extending across the street in hellfire. She started levitating with graceful movements.

"I shouldn't have shouted 'BOOP' and made it so dramatic. I should have just stayed quiet. That was on me," Asaga chuckled more as her chest began to glow. "God damn it. Alright, time for plan B. As someone said before, no plan survives contact with the enemy," Chump thought, preparing for anything.

Chump opened a new program that had been running in the background and placed the laptop on the copilot's seat. With the engine running, he started accelerating towards the giant figure at increasing speeds.

Asaga looked up ahead, "Charging at me already? You're desperate, I see. Very well, I shall make your death a quick one."

She lifted her giant left claw, clenching it with strength. Remnants of dark orange lines coursed through her skin, concentrating her herculean strength on her arm.

"I hate it when people underestimate me," Chump murmured while cracking a smile.

She descended like a hammer, aiming to slam into the car before it could strike her. But just before Chump entered her range, he turned the wheel drastically to the right, narrowly avoiding her.

"Nice, she took the bait, kyahaha!" Chump increased his speed even more, weaving through the streets and leaving Asaga behind.

...He nearly fooled her, passing by and speeding down the street. This narrator hardly gets paid enough for scripts that haven't been updated.

Anyway, Asaga slammed the ground so hard that it cracked the earth several meters around her, even causing the car Chump was on to tremble as he raced away.

"I noticed that these giant metal husks only explode on the parts that aren't fully armored... So how about..." Coincidentally, the direction that Chump drove aligned with the road, causing all the parked cars to face him.

Asaga effortlessly lifted each nearby parked car by the back with her giant claws, making it even easier than before. She tossed them into the air and punched them as they fell, effectively hurling cars towards Chump like baseballs.

With her top speed, they broke through nearly all the manual brakes and raced faster than him.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK!" Chump shouted with all his strength, panicking and hyperventilating in his dread.

BAM! SLAM! WOOSH!

Every car he barely dodged collided with another car he was trying to avoid, either pushing him or blocking his escape routes. Sometimes it pushed the cars that had already dodged, making them wider obstacles to navigate.

Every time he attempted to change direction or escape onto a nearby street, a giant car flying towards him blocked his path, or a chain of cars formed an impenetrable barrier. Even when he put some distance between them, Asaga flew towards him, picking up motorcycles and bicycles to throw them like shurikens.

Ephiron breathed in and out. His blue hair glowed in a dark shade of blue, and his clothing and gloves shimmered in various shades of blue. Remnants flowed through his skin, his eyes turning completely dark blue.

He had to kneel, coughing slightly in pain, his calm face breaking into a sweat and a slight frown as he kept concentrating. But on what?

The water from the morning storm atop every building in the city concentrated around them. Cold and ice began to cover the surfaces of the rooftops. Pillars of ice emerged from the buildings, creating a secure labyrinth of bridges connecting the entire city.

It covered almost the entire cityscape, and Ephiron collapsed on the floor, conscious but trembling and sweating profusely. Thalia and the bunnies rushed to his side.

With an unknown caramel-brown light, Thalia assisted him, slowing his breathing and easing his trembling.

The bunnies lifted him to traverse the city using the bridges he had created. Thalia, Zippy, and the bunnies carrying Ephiron followed the chase from a safe distance.

Clem was about to follow them, hoping the bridges could support his golem weight after they had safely crossed. However, he suddenly froze in place, his face slowly contorting with fear.

He turned his gaze towards the source of a massive shadow casting over the building.

Without a word, he signaled the direction Thalia had gone and replied, "Follow the group on the ceiling. It's a duel; we can't intervene... Master Meisho."

Back to the chase situation, motorcycles bounced off anything they collided with, creating a chaotic, bullet-hell-like experience. Chump had only a few turns left to dodge three Harleys in a row, gradually being forced closer to the center of the chaos.

Asaga smirked smugly, taunting, "Gotcha, darling~"

Chump managed to dodge a car on the street and a fourth Harley, threading his way through a narrow passage between two trucks. However, he became momentarily stuck, causing a military vehicle behind him to attempt a futile pass. He struggled to pull back.

CRASH!

A pink bicycle went hurtling straight into his rear window, shattering it and lodging itself in the middle. Tiny shards of glass flew through the car. Chump reacted quickly, thanks to his rearview mirror, and took cover behind his seat. But now, the controls were covered in glass, and he couldn't see what was coming.

The giant obsidian woman couldn't contain her sadistic delight. Her lips curled into a sinister grin, her eyes gleaming with a twisted pleasure bordering on madness. Asaga loomed just ten meters behind Chump, gripping a third truck in her massive hands.

"LET'S SEE HOW YOU RUN NOW, BOY!" she taunted, her enthusiasm chilling to the bone. Chump's heart raced, his mind a maelstrom of terror and despair. Panic and fear couldn't fully capture the overwhelming dread that consumed him at that moment.

He glanced back for just a second, greeted by a scene of impending doom. He huddled behind his seat, covering his head, unable to vocalize any words. His mouth hung open in a horrified, silent scream.

"TAKE THIS, ASSHOLE!" She launched the truck with all her might, her wings expanding to the sides, casting a shadow that resembled a twisted demoness.

The truck flew a few meters, striking the cars and trucks (and the bicycle lodged in the shattered glass), sending them tumbling like marbles on the floor.

The heavier trucks didn't move much, but the military vehicle, being three times lighter and trapped between them, was launched into the air like a spinning top, careening through the street.

It hit several vehicles sideways before ultimately crashing into a building where the long street ended.

The green con-decorated car began to smoke, and the streets fell silent as the human and the ferocious woman stood still. Thalia, Ephiron, Zippy, and the bunnies followed from the buildings, observing Asaga as she walked and cleaned her claws.