The Rejected Family

Chapter 13

Reject logic

"Muro, what are you doing?"

As One questions his brother's actions, the two women begin a deadly battle.

Hanging from the cave's ceiling, Kuna challenges Phoena, "You're a big person. My boss will love to know that I ruined your existence."

"That bad loser? Your team is made up of idiots."

"You've got a very sharp tongue today, hothead."

Kuna prepares for an attack, stretching out her body like a slingshot. 

"Jesus! What a weirdo!" Toki looks away.

With the power of a shot, the elastic woman launches herself at her opponent, who deflects the attack with a subtle movement to the side. After landing on the ground, the attacker repositions herself, continuing the fight.

Using her right leg like a whip, Kuna stretches it out, horizontally sweeping everything in front of her. 

In response, Phoena jumps and avoids the blow. Like a phoenix in the air, she prepares a counter-attack with her legs, covering both with red flames.

"Heatwave."

It's a definitive hit. Kuna's right leg is crushed by the total weight of her opponent's body, restricting her movement. The ground shakes.

"Argh!"

One tells his sister, "Your companion is quite peculiar, Toki."

"That one's trouble! We need to get out of here, Muro!"

Muro continues to watch the enemies, waiting anxiously for an opportunity.

"Stronger than expected. Have you been training since your last trial?" Kuna questions the burning woman.

"My job is not to answer questions. I'm supposed to eliminate you."

Phoena prepares an attack, aiming her arms at her opponent's chest. Her limbs are engulfed in fire, which intensifies with every second.

"Boy, you're pretty determined yourself; it seems I'm out of luck," Kuna accepts fate.

One is startled, "Hey, hey. She's going—"

Phoena's flames form a stream of fire, completely covering the victim's body. The elastic woman can't move; the result is inevitable.

"Phoenix Vortex!"

The look on everyone's face is filled with the shock of reality. Kuna's silhouette disappears amidst the combustion.

One covers Toki's eyes, stopping her from following the tragedy.

When the fire stops, the fight is over. Phoena is the only one standing at the site of the confrontation, her feet immersed in the ashes that once were a powerful competitor.

Kuna, rigidity rejection: dead

"Impossible." One takes a while to understand.

The boy stares at the burning woman, paralyzed by her presence. She turns to Muro's group, who now have her full attention.

The older boy gives simple instructions to his little brothers, "Run."

Darkness.

A man's eyes open slowly, waking from a deep sleep. Calos is being led to the less well-lit areas of the cave. In a place where hardly any sound is heard, a few luminous stones are responsible for keeping the place minimally visible.

Dinda carries Muro's father on her back while pulling another body with her hands. Dende is dragged along the ground. Both were unconscious, gradually waking up.

"Where—?"

Calos' small body allows his weight to be supported without any problems. Opening his eyes, Dende sees his friend, better understanding the situation.

"Dinda..."

"You're finally awake. Come on, you can walk on your own now."

The woman lets go of her companion's body, knocking him to the ground.

"Ouch! What a great way to wake up. Are you already ordering me around?"

"Stop complaining. I carried you both alone. You should be on your knees thanking me."

"I don't even know who this guy is," Dende refers to Calos.

"Oh, he's from that scandalous kid's team. They seemed to be willing to help us."

"We shouldn't be forming another alliance, especially an informal one. Haven't you learned anything from the last one?"

"It's just a sensible choice. We need someone strong. We can take advantage of their kindness."

"You'll regret it, Dinda."

"In that case, all you have to do is be ready to kill him when necessary."

Calos becomes aware of the situation, waking up at once. He looks around, recognizing Dende's face. As the woman carries him, his situation grabs his attention.

"Is this a kidnapping?"

"Oh, he's awake," Dende informs his companion.

"Are we in the trial?"

Dinda replies, "Yes, right at the beginning of it."

"And why am I with two strangers?"

"Don't say that. We've even eaten together."

Calos breaks free from the woman's body, jumping away.

He threatens the pair, "I plan to win the trial. If you will stand in my way, please be direct."

"Hey, hey, it's not like that. Take it easy, okay? I just gathered the first people I met. I can't sleep, so I had a short time alone here in the cave."

"Your rejection..."

"Yes, I reject sleep. You remember that, right? I'm not lying. I just took advantage of my ability and brought you two together."

The sound of Dinda's words is muffled by Calos' ears, who ignores every piece of information that comes out of the woman's mouth. Convinced, the little man steals the show, shouting his opinions, which seem more relevant than everyone else’s.

"Enough, you don't have to try to convince me! My son sympathized with you, but don't get it wrong! I'm not helping you! It's you who are being used! When we find my family, I'll deal with both of you!"

While being directly hit by Muro's father's numerous remarks, the two companions ignore all the noise coming from the show-off.

"Hey, Dinda. It looks like we won the lottery. You've picked the biggest prick on that team."

"Jeez. You have a big mouth, don't you, shorty?"

"Oh, so let's talk about size. Let's be clear: there are people in my family who are much bigger than you. And do you want to know something else? I'm stronger than all of them!"

The trio approaches a ridge in the cave area, like a large step that increases the height of the rest of the path. Dende and Dinda cooperate to overcome the obstacle and are forced to listen to Calos' taunts during their efforts.

"Here, Dinda. Lean on me."

Dinda climbs up her friend's body, using it as a stepping stone to reach the elevation. Arriving at her goal, she holds out her hand to her companion.

Calos continues to grumble, "Maybe you've been spoiled too much by my brat. I'll put you in your place!"

"Here, your turn," Dinda offers to help Calos since Dende is already at his side.

It's an impossible challenge. The little man jumps repeatedly, trying to reach the woman's arm, which is stretched as far as possible. The elevation seems unreachable.

"You're kind of cute, little one. Do you want me to come down and help you?" The woman laughs at her new circumstances.

"What's the point of this ridge? Is the architect of this cave pulling my leg!"

Dende asks his friend again, "Do we really need him with us?"

"Dende..."

"Alright, alright. I'll help you."

Calos kept jumping incessantly, aiming for the high ground. 

"The organizer of the trial! No, it must be that developer's fault! I'll finish them both off, just to make sure!" The enraged man continued his scandal.

Suddenly, the pair's eyes catch sight of something surprising. A vast shadow covers their faces.

"Dinda, what...?"

In an unexpected reaction, Calos' legs grow exponentially, reaching the height of a giant. 

The man's new height is so immense that his upper body — which remains unchanged — is pressed against the cave ceiling. The place no longer has enough space for this new life form.

Dende and Dinda are stunned. In a sudden stillness, Muro's father's fury is interrupted after he realizes his new situation.

 "Oh, sorry," he apologizes.

The ground shakes with a shattering impact. The destruction leads to a battle in another part of the cave.

The fight between Saul and Pac begins. Honda slowly regenerates while watching her husband.

A fight at close range, the two competitors stand face to face. Hand-to-hand contact causes each punch to shake the structures of the place.

The woman doesn't even dare to move, bewildered by the confrontation; they've been fighting for less than a minute, but I wouldn't be surprised if this place collapsed right now.

Even after dozens of blows, neither combatant seems to have suffered any damage. Without results, Saul prepares an attack to pierce his opponent's resistance. 

With his knees bent, the twist of his hips leverages the force of a heavy punch in Pac's direction.

In a mirrored response, the enemy strikes back with the same intention. The blows collide. The impact causes an even greater tremor, causing Honda to cling to the floor in fright. The ceiling threatens to collapse at any moment.

"Are you still alive? What a surprise," Pac praises his opponent.

"Weak punches like that won't do any damage. Harder!"

As Saul's clothes are torn in half, his muscles grow, pushing him further beyond his limits.

Pac is impressed, "wow, who knew..."

With an almost instantaneous punch, the guy is suddenly hit at an unexpected speed. The new strength of Saul's muscles increases his speed, resulting once again in the cavernous ground shaking.

"Urgh!" 

Stalactites fall from the ceiling, and the possibility of collapse becomes real.

Pac accepts the challenge, "Heh, is that even possible? Let's see how far you can go."

Honda reflects anxiously; this doesn't look good. Those two idiots are ready to destroy this place!

Saul advances again. His opponent reacts in an entirely defensive pose. 

Instantaneous.

A right hook pierces the block with the speed of an arrow seeking the enemy's face. A lunge follows up the attack, and dozens of chain punches hit the target precisely. Pac can no longer keep up with the pace of the fight. With the impact of a cannon, holes are drilled into the wall behind the body that was hit. Countless cracks shake the structure.

Honda can't believe her eyes; why? Why is it that even though the place is about to collapse, he is still unharmed?

The wall is riddled with holes, while the body that was hit remains intact.

"I can't keep up with you anymore. What have you become? Your body seems to get stronger every time you start to weaken," Pac questions his opponent.

Panting and fatigued, Muro's uncle replies, "You're not just indestructible. It's as if every time I come close to hurting you, your body gets even tougher."

One of them gets stronger whenever his strength doesn't seem enough. The other gets harder whenever it looks fragile. What kind of combat is that? The woman understands her genuine fear.

Pac smiles, pointing at Honda.

"How do you think this will end? Even if you refuse to die, you will be considered defeated if you remain motionless under the rubble of the cave."

"Don't listen to him. We have the upper hand," she says, trying to maintain her husband's state of mind to avoid her fear.

"Are you that confident because of the size of your team? In that case, all we need to do is defeat several of you at once."

During the conversation, one man remains silent. Not a word seems to reach his ears, which only hear the movements of his adversary.

The enemy taunts Saul, "Hey, do you hear me, big guy? Your efforts are pointless!"

"When that idiot gets into a fight, it doesn't matter what you do. He won't stop. It's not just for fun. His brain shuts down all his thoughts."

Saul's arms grow once more while his mind repeats a single piece of information: I haven't done any damage yet... more!