The undead were spreading throughout the streets and crawling onto the dragooun like wildfire. It was unbelievable to everyone how Lloyd was capable of conjuring such a force. If it had been against them, they would have been certainly overwhelmed in an instant. Lloyd had given the power balance and the upper hand they needed to conclude this mission.
Shogo performed his shield ability once again, although it was a much more powered version, and he didn’t use it on himself. His shield ability conjured up a tough barrier that was hard to break through, so it was good enough to act as a trap to corner something. Using Nathan’s boost from the environment, Shogo leaped forward and was passing right on top of the dragooun, he took his chance and wrote the shield right above it, before getting back to the rooftop. That way, by even the slightest chance that the dragooun was able to fly, it would be blocked by the shield.
Now, the next step of immobilizing the dragooun was up for initiation. Erina stood among the undead crowd on the streets. She was still trying to get her act together because of earlier. The others were doing their utmost best to ensure everything worked in order, it was time for her to do something as well.
“All right, body! Don’t fail me now. It’s now or never.” She encouraged herself.
She breathed in and out deeply. Once again, she began to write her paragraphs to print on her limbs. After finishing, she rolled up her sleeves again and slammed all her writings on her arms.
[Literary Technique: Steel Set]
The letters on her arm lit up greatly. She could feel the amplification flowing through her veins. Just as her powers were back in action, so was her confidence.
She placed the tips of her fingers on the ground, getting herself ready to take off and strike the dragooun head-on. Her aim was directly at the dragooun’s legs to get it off its feet and make it easier for the undead to swarm it up. Once that thing was on the ground, it would be checkmate.
“This better work…”
Erina blasted off from her place. Even if the leap came directly from the push of her hands and not her legs, it was enough to set a blast among the undead and split the crowd, making indirect gaps in Erina’s path. Within a few seconds, she was already facing the dragooun’s left leg.
She tightened her grip firmly, primed to take out the great force that stood before her. There was nothing of more power when Erina used her ability. She could overpower anything, that was what she believed.
[Sub-Technique Activated: Steel Knockout Rush]
That specific move she was about to go through was a sequence of punches performed in quick succession, with each punch greater than the next. It would also leave an after effect by each surface it touched, a phantom punch to double the damage. With enough strength, she might be able to strike through the dragooun’s leg and immobilize it completely.
And so, the first strike went through. What followed after was chaotic, as Erina kept smashing through the dragooun’s leg with only one fist, only taking a split-second break between each punch. Her movement was at an unbelievable speed that the after effect only left light in its presence.
The others were able to notice that from afar because of the light being emitted every second.
“Stand clear!” Shogo alerted Nathan. They needed to keep their distance from the dragooun to avoid getting caught in the impact once the dragooun is brought to the ground.
The final strike went through. Erina was done with one leg. The dragooun began to falter and was slowly falling to the ground. But as long as it had the other leg functioning, there was still a chance it was going to hold itself together.
Erina wasn’t going to let that happen and moved on with her plan. A second later, she was already standing before the right leg. It was constantly moving left and right, shaking from the damage that had been done from the other as it barely held the weight of the rest of the body. It wasn’t going to hinder Erina’s attack, however, it was going to make it much more effective.
Although the leg seemed to move frantically, Erina noticed a pattern in the movement and decided to take full advantage of it. As the leg stepped forward, she shifted from the side to right behind, waiting for it to swing back. She readied her fist and struck through once again.
“If. You. Weren’t. Such. A. Lousy. Dragon.” She spoke heavily with each strike. “I would have had my breakfast by now!! Take this!!!!”
Like a flash, Erina struck right through the leg and onto the other side. It was then that she felt the ground beneath her shake, and it wasn’t because of another one of Lloyd’s antics. She had succeeded with her strength, and the dragooun had lost complete control over its leg.
The first leg fell, leaving a blast in its fall that blew all the undead away. Erina shielded herself with her arms, but it still pushed her back a few feet away.
It was nothing to her, she would think.
That was when she suddenly felt the world around her spin for a few seconds and came back. The pressure of a thousand tons was right above her head; she felt she was about to pass out any second then. That was when she looked down.
On the ground right beneath her feet was… blood… clear scarlet blood splattered all over, flowing through and seeming into granite gullies like a calm river. But it wasn’t its malodorous odor seeping through her nose that made her extremely nauseous.
Before she realized it, she was the one coughing up the blood, and at an excessive amount at that.
— So this is it, huh…
Erina knew what was going on with her. This was the consequence of her breaking right past her limit. But this wasn’t the result of losing spectral energy within a limb like what happened with her legs, this was the direct result of a human body actually reaching its final limit and breaking down. Even when she thought she could use her other limbs, her body as a whole couldn’t take it. Underneath all that strength, and despite her being a writer, she was still a human, a sixteen-year-old girl.
Knowing full well this was it, Erina still wanted to push further, to push enough strength within her to get herself away from the dragooun’s next blast.
There was one thing she had forgotten: she wasn’t alone.
Like the wind, Shogo jumped down, snatching Erina off the ground and carrying her away with ease. It was the leader’s job to ensure the safety of his members.
“I really messed up…” Erina tried to speak, despite her weakness.
“Messed up?” Shogo landed on a rooftop away from the dragooun. He placed Erina on the ground by the wall. “Emi, you rocked! This was phenomenal work. You’ve turned the tide even better than before.”
As a leader, he was supposed to scold her for putting herself at risk and acting out on her own. But as a friend, all he had was words of praise and encouragement. That was the flaw of Shogo Kuroiwa, he was still a friend above all else.
“Be careful next time, will you?” He jumped on the fence to get back to the battle, “Guess it’s my turn to do something. Can’t let you and Lloyd have all the glory.”
Getting praised by Shogo was enough to settle her down just as it would everyone on the team. They all agreed on disliking some of his traits, but when it came to his acknowledgement towards things as a leader, they respected it as they would anything. It was all part of his mysterious charm.
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