บท 74: Chapter 74 – An Eye for An Eye
In almost slow motion, Ajax's leg muscles tensed and then sprung, propelling his leg towards Dodoria's scouter for a spinning head kick. He noticed the scouter flashed and emitted a sharp, urgent beep.
Instantly, without even opening her eyes, Dodoria swung her left arm in a backhand motion in an attempt to counter the attack.
Ajax's eyes widened in surprise—the scouter had warned Dodoria of the attack's direction!
In that split second, Ajax calculated the trajectories of both attacks, mapping out the precise moment of impact and the angle of the respective strikes. Both attacks were set to land almost simultaneously, which meant he could destroy the scouter at the cost of tanking the backhand in return—an even trade.
The problem? By sheer dumb luck, Dodoria's spiked vambrace was headed straight for—uh, Ajax Jr.
"…"
Now, Ajax had full faith in his body's ability to adapt, but this? He didn't know if he trusted it that much. And even if he did, why in the seven shits would he put himself through something like that? He's not Vegeta, and besides, did anyone see what Dodoria did to his left arm?
Abort mission!
With a decisive twist, Ajax pulled back from his intended attack, flipping over Dodoria's arm and narrowly avoiding her spiked vambrace. He landed softly in a light crouch right in front of Dodoria's towering figure, barely making a sound as he touched down.
Contrary to expectations, Dodoria, now with her eyes wide open, made no attempt to reposition herself or create distance. Instead, she stretched her arms wide, as though welcoming a family member or a loved one. The gesture was absurdly out of place, an invitation dripping with condescension. Dodoria smiled, but there was nothing welcoming about it. It was a predator's grin, a twisted expression of malicious delight.
Ajax's lips pursed at the arrogant taunt. The sarcasm in Dodoria's "stance", the mockery in his smile, the condescension—it all amounted to a challenge, a gauntlet thrown down.
Dodoria was saying Ajax's best wouldn't even faze him.
Fine. He sees how it is.
In an instant, Ajax's right fist, his sole remaining good arm, ignited with silver energy. His muscles tensed, the energy within his fist intensifying in preparation to be driven straight into Dodoria's obese stomach.
You want my best? Take this on for size then, you fat asshole!
"PINPOINT IMPACT!"
With a roar, Ajax launched his fist forward, the silver energy trailing behind like a comet's tail. The air around his hand seemed to vibrate as his fist zeroed in on Dodoria's gut.
His fist drove itself into Dodoria's stomach, the blazing energy exploding outward in a radiant burst a millisecond later. For a split second, there was silence. Then, the shockwave hit—a concussive blast rippling outward, causing the ground to buckle and shatter for meters in every direction.
In the wake of that titanic impact, Dodoria… was hardly affected. Though the surroundings were obliterated, Dodoria merely stumbled, her breath knocked out of her. It seemed as though her fat had magically absorbed most of the force.
Like that one Noumu in USJ.
"Nice try, twerp. Ya actually managed to knock the wind out of me!"
Ajax's eyes widened in shock and horror.
Are you fucking kiddin–
Ajax didn't get to finish his thought. With blistering speed, Dodoria's spiky ki-vambrace slammed into his chest. The impact was like being hit by a runaway train, the sheer force driving the spikes deep into his ribs and lungs. Pain erupted throughout Ajax's body, a white-hot agony that robbed him of his breath.
A moment later, physics caught up and sent Ajax hurtling backward, carving a trench in the earth before crashing into a small hillside.
Ajax coughed wetly, his body embedded into the hillside, each breath a painful, gurgling struggle. Breathing had become excruciatingly difficult, and Ajax could feel his lungs slowly filling with blood bit by bit due to Dodoria's attack. He didn't have the courage to assess the extent of his injuries.
An absurd thought crossed his mind suddenly: if he were to drink orange juice now, would it trickle out from him like one of those cartoon characters? He knew it was ridiculous, but the morbid humor provided a small, fleeting distraction from the grim reality of his situation.
With a bit of help from gravity, Ajax eventually freed himself from the cliffside, only to collapse onto the ground, his body weak. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and the chilly ground offered little comfort. His vision swam, dark spots encroaching as he fought to remain conscious. Meanwhile, his blood stained the earth, mixing with the soil to form a grimy red mud that seeped into his clothes.
He marveled that he still had any blood left at all.
Ajax struggled to push himself up, but his limbs were barely responding.
Through his Ki sense, he detected the worm-shaped ki approaching him once more. It wiggled towards him menacingly, seeming faster and with more urgency. However, Ajax couldn't afford to focus on it too intently at the moment. It was still quite a distance away and moving slowly too, perhaps equivalent to the speed of a power walk. It was just one more concern for him, a reminder of another looming threat, but one that could wait.
As Ajax struggled to rise, his body screaming in protest, he heard Dodoria's leisurely footsteps drawing closer. The sound was deliberate and unhurried, each step meant to mock Ajax's current state. Then, Dodoria's voice taunted him.
"What's the matter, hero? Thought you could take me down with one punch, did ya?"
With his chest riddled with holes, Ajax just couldn't muster the strength to rise before Dodoria arrived. His limbs felt as heavy as lead, his muscles refusing to obey his desperate commands.
He felt Dodoria's hands grip his hair and yank his head up, sending a fresh wave of pain coursing through his body. His vision swayed, the world around him momentarily blurring before snapping back into sharp focus.
Dodoria's visage, a grotesque mask of satisfaction, came into view. Her eyes gleamed with malicious glee, and the twisted smile on her lips widened as she took in Ajax's battered form.
"Well, well, well," Dodoria sneered. "Look at the mighty warrior now. Crawlin' in the mud like a pathetic worm."
Dodoria rose to her feet from her crouch, still lifting Ajax by the hair. It was effortless for her, a casual display of her strength, but due to the height difference, Ajax dangled in the air, supported solely by his hair. His body hung limp, his strength nearly depleted but his spirit unbroken.
"This is why I love fightin' melee fighters like you. Ya all show such delightful expressions of despair when ya realize that even your most powerful, most prized move is absolutely worthless against me!"
With a single finger, Dodoria harshly stroked Ajax's cheek, leaving behind a bloody line.
"You martial artist types always kneel an' submit yourselves wholeheartedly to me in the end. Always," Dodoria continued, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. Her grip tightened, lifting Ajax even higher. "You are not going to be an exception. By the end of this, you'll prostrate yourself before me an' my power. Then, we'll really have some fun! Well, I will. You probably won't."
Once again, Ajax felt his anger rising at having his buttons pushed. He hated shit like this. He detested people like Dodoria—people who flaunt their power and revel in forcing others into humiliating circumstances for their own amusement. No rhyme, no reason, just because they could.
Ajax glared at his enemy, his eyes ablaze with defiance and fury.
"Oh! Ya got a little bit of spunk left in you, twerp! You tsunderes are the best! It makes the thrill of when I finally conquer you that much sweeter!" Dodoria did not get the hint. At all. She reveled in her own sadistic pleasure, completely oblivious to the depth of Ajax's hatred at her actions. "I'll catch those two pipsqueaks later so ya won't be alone. Look, ain't I nice?"
'Disgusting.' Ajax thought. 'Almost comically so.'
Once upon a time, in his past life, Ajax had believed he could never hate anyone—a naïve thought that time had proven wrong. And now, for the first time in this life, in another world, he found himself proven wrong again. Oh yes, he's feeling it. He's starting to really hate Dodoria.
With no time to charge a Kamehameha, Ajax tried to raise his hand to fire a Kikoho, but Dodoria casually knocked his hand aside.
Without another word exchanged, Dodoria proceeded to bury her fist into Ajax's stomach, her other hand still gripping his head. One blow after another, Dodoria enjoyed her brutal and senseless violence. With a final, savage swing, Dodoria sent Ajax flying, skidding across the ground and coming to a stop face down, a short distance away.
Temporarily gaining some distance away from Dodoria, Ajax seized the opportunity to lift himself, pressing his right palm firmly against the ground as he channeled his Ki. Just a little time! He just needed a little bit of time! As he slowly rose inch by inch, he could feel Dodoria's leisurely approach through his Ki sense.
A brief while later, Dodoria arrived before him again.
Ajax involuntarily grunted in pain as Dodoria ground her military boot into his back, forcing him back onto the ground, face down.
Sensing Dodoria's weight shift through the pressure on his back, Ajax knew Dodoria was leaning over to grab his head again. Ajax's eyes flashed. His last opportunity was here.
Summoning all the speed and strength he could muster, Ajax flung his right arm backward toward Dodoria, almost like a backhand slap. As his hand lifted from the ground, a spinning sawblade of Ki erupted from beneath the earth's surface, tracing the trajectory of his hand and slicing through the air with a sharp, high-pitched whine.
With vindication, Ajax unleashed the Kienzan that he had painstakingly created underground toward Dodoria at point-blank range.
This was precisely why he had kept his palm pressed flat against the ground!
Due to lying face down, Ajax heard more than saw Dodoria's yell of shock and the screech of Ki grinding against Ki. Then, the pressure lifted from his back abruptly. Seizing the opportunity, Ajax rolled onto his back, his muscles protesting with every movement.
Ajax's heart pounded in his chest as he gazed upwards, watching Dodoria soar backward into the sky. It was a frantic attempt at reducing the attack's velocity relative to Dodoria's own position–a last-ditch bid to evade the deadly attack.
Dodoria's swift retreat had given her just enough time to react, her hands snapping up to intercept the spinning sawblade between her ki-armored palms. Dodoria's grip tightened on the attack as it spun in her hands, her muscles taut with the exertion required to prevent it from tearing into her face.
Blearily, Ajax observed as Dodoria ground her teeth, struggling to maintain her grip on the Kienzan. Then, with a sickening whine of grinding metal, Dodoria's grip faltered. The Kienzan slipped from her grasp, its trajectory only slightly altered as it continued its trajectory.
With chilling ease, the Kienzan carved through the side of Dodoria's face, from her mouth to her left eye.
High above, Dodoria screamed in agony as blood gushed from the gruesome wound, her cries echoing across the battlefield. Dodoria clutched her face, her eye nothing but a ruinous mess of liquid and blood. The cleanly severed halves of her scouter fell from her face, clattering to the ground as a small heap of wires and machinery.
Ah, what a pity. He almost took Dodoria's head.
Ajax collapsed on his back, every breath tainted by the coppery taste of blood filling his lungs. His muscles refused to obey his commands, his limbs heavy and unresponsive, and he could see the darkness nibbling at the edges of his vision.
After enduring a sizable hole blasted through him courtesy of Frieza, numerous puncture wounds in his chest, the loss of use of an arm, and the misplacement of more than half of his blood supply, Ajax's body finally reached its breaking point.
He lay there, utterly drained of strength—and blood—his body mangled and broken to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.
However, even as he lay there helpless, Ajax felt nothing but grim satisfaction at the damage he had inflicted on Dodoria. The memory of the Kienzan slicing through flesh and bone brought a small, fleeting sense of triumph.
Faintly but suddenly, Ajax became aware of the worm-like entity inching toward him just a scant few feet away. It seemed Dodoria had inadvertently knocked him closer to it, but the situation had been so intense that he had failed to notice until now. Well, with his body incapacitated as it was, he couldn't evade it regardless, so he supposed the timing of his realization made little difference.
Weakly, Ajax sensed a shadow loom over him. He shifted his eyeballs toward Dodoria, a movement he was still capable of in his condition. Above him, Dodoria seemed on the verge of losing her mind, driven into a frenzy by fury, pain, and humiliation.
"You... you little rat bastard!" she snarled, voice shaking with rage. "My beauty…! A lady's beauty is her greatest treasure, ya fuck! You'll pay for this!!!"
'...wait, what?' Ajax wasn't sure if he was hallucinating. Was that real? Was he referring to Dodoria by the wrong gender this entire time?
Driven by fury, the energy surrounding Dodoria's arms surged forward and expanded, casting a vast shadow over Ajax as it took shape. Eventually, it formed into an enormous spiky ball, reminiscent of the Morningstar of a flail.
Dodoria's eyes blazed with a cold, cruel fire as the deadly sphere expanded, growing more menacing by the second. The sheer size and power of the Morningstar left no doubt about its lethal potential. Clearly, any notion of keeping Ajax alive had long been banished from her mind.
Then, muscles bulging with exertion, Dodoria let out a triumphant roar as she swung her arms downward, sending the colossal Morningstar hurtling toward Ajax with maximum force.
Simultaneously, the worm-like entity had made its way to him, mere inches away, then began burrowing and squirming into him.
Alright, there was no denying it—Ajax was fully aware that he wouldn't survive this double whammy.
'Game over,' Ajax thought blandly, surprisingly calm as he faced his death. Unfortunately, there was no convenient Senzu bean tucked under his tongue this time. He'll make sure he has one handy next time around.
As Dodoria's devastating attack descended upon him, Ajax's mind remained eerily clear, his thoughts oddly detached. He could feel the crushing weight of the energy sphere bearing down on him, its destructive force threatening to tear him apart upon impact. And yet, a strange sense of peace washed over him.
Ajax closed his eyes serenely, hoping he wouldn't just wake up in a hospital room back in his old world. That would be genuinely terrible.
The pink Morningstar plummeted with horrific force, crashing down into Ajax's location with meteoric momentum. The ground quaked violently under the impact, the sheer force of the blow causing fissures to spread out like spiderwebs from the epicenter. Rocks shattered, trees splintered, and the air was filled with the deafening roar of destruction.
Then, the entire landmass where Ajax had lain crumbled, shattering into tiny fragments as it sunk beneath Namek's emerald waves.
Hovering above, Dodoria's chest rose and fell with exertion as she clutched her injured face, her lone eye fixed on the destruction below. There was no movement, save for the ongoing collapse and submersion of the landmass beneath the water.
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