Exose's Blazing Onslaught
Exose came flying in, her wing-like panels unfurled, spewing orange flames. She looked like a massive stake hurtling straight at me. The cherubs chimed in with their psalm and music right on cue. The reckless blonde woman, the baby angels, the flashy fire effects—it might've seemed romantic at a glance, but the problem was that her glare was locked on my Heart (the physical one).
If this kept up, I'd get to experience my master's favorite chicken skewer-making process firsthand, right through my own body.
"What the fuck..."
A reflexive curse slipped out, followed by an equally reflexive dive to the floor. My shoulder slammed hard into the ground, but the pain wasn't too bad. The only real casualty was my tuxedo—barely half a day old from the mountains—ripping with a loud rrrrrip. Damn, that was expensive.
Shoooooom!
Kwaaaaa!
The lance barely missed me overhead, its shockwave rattling my body just from passing by, the thruster's roar pounding my ears. Luckily, aside from some flash blindness, no real damage.
Exose, having zipped past me, pulled a smooth U-turn and fixed her gaze on me. With a smile like that had just been a greeting, she spread her arms wide and called out.
"Well now, does facing me in earnest pique your interest at last? I've come with high expectations—don't disappoint."
"High expectations, my ass. Is attacking an unarmed civilian your idea of an honorable duel?!"
I shot back. But Exose just tilted her head like she had no clue what I meant.
"Unarmed civilian...? Deception is a form of tactics, but I can't overlook you tarnishing my honor like that."
"What the hell are you talking about? Can't you see I'm empty-handed?"
"Empty-handed, perhaps, but hardly unarmed. Especially in your case, Earl of Straford."
Now it was my turn to stare blankly. Empty-handed but not unarmed? What did that even mean?
Exose's tone sharpened, like she was getting pissed.
"Didn't you slay the monster Climidocampus in Acton? Are you really going to keep playing dumb?"
...Huh? Me?
"I don't remember shit from back then, so no clue what you're on about."
"A memory too volatile to recall? It must have burned as brightly as the Star of Bethlehem."
"No, fuck volatile or whatever. I was passed out the whole time."
I shrugged, and Exose's mouth twisted for a split second. She was convinced I was lying. Aiming her lance at me again, she spat out her words.
"If you're going to keep pretending, then so be it. Truth, justice, and will are proven not by words, but by the dialogue of iron! If you're not serious, at least prepare yourself. En Garde!!"
"Wait, no, hold on—"
No time for protests—the over-augmented knight launched again. She leaped into the air, then descended in a graceful arc, skimming the corridor floor in a ferocious charge. Her blazing blue eyes, flickering with intensity, locked onto me clearly.
What now? My options were—
"Crush!"
I raised my hand toward the ceiling and swung it down hard. One of the remaining bulkheads plummeted like a guillotine blade, timed perfectly with Exose's approach.
Kwang!!
I'd hacked the signal to induce a malfunction. If only that took her out...
Thud!! Crackle-crack!!
"Damn..."
"Cute trick! But I'd hoped for something more valiant."
No such luck—her massive lance burst right through the metal shutter. I tried dropping more bulkheads, but a flying enemy just punched through to the open lobby and looped back toward me.
Goddamn, this sucks for us ground-pounders.
'Then signal jamming...!'
I thrust out my right arm, trying to seize the signals pouring from Exose. Direct contact was needed to mess with internals, but jamming remotely should work. For an over-augmented type, it'd be devastating—disrupt the info flow and cognition, delay judgment, kill reactions and focus. No way she could attack properly.
Or so it should've...
Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt bwoooom—
"Stat sua cuique diēs, brevē et irrēparābile tempus Ōmnibus est vītae, sed fāmam extendere factīs, Hoc virtūtis opus..."
The cherubs soared over the knight's head, diligently chanting their psalm. Amid that harmony, my eyes trembled.
Those foul hobby drones weren't just background noise. Their sound was a cleverly woven interference wave and sonic disruption, blocking me from seizing and scrambling her signals. No time to pinpoint her real signal anyway—the golden tip of her lance was already at my throat.
****
The lance hurtled toward me with enough force to impale and pin me to the wall. Too late to dodge—we were in the endgame.
Boom!
"Kyaaak?!"
Suddenly, the floor right under the charging Exose exploded. A girlish squeak escaped the mad knight's lips. A power line below overloaded, erupting in sparks and debris. The unexpected shock twisted her trajectory; she staggered and slammed into a pillar deeper in the corridor.
Kwang!
"Good thing I shelled out for that insurance."
I let out a sigh of relief. Even then, the cherubs didn't miss a beat, blaring heavy jazz bass from their brass trumpets to underscore the peril.
But thinking that finished her was naive. I needed to bolt to the panic room and aggro the guards there. Hell, with all this chaos, why hasn't anyone shown up?
Thoom-thoom-boom!
"??!!"
Then an unintended explosion rocked the whole floor. The vibration nearly toppled me mid-escape. Looking back, the pillar Exose had hit was shattered—not collapsed from impact, but clearly blasted apart.
"Did she hit something? Wait, more importantly, where's that psycho bitch?!"
A chill prickled from above. Lifting my gaze, there she was on the ceiling—the soot-covered knight descending to smash me flat.
Kraka-raka-rak!
"Whoa shit?!"
A pathetic yelp burst out as I barely dodged. The ivory lance plunged deep into the corridor floor. But it wasn't over. Holes and cylinders along the lance's shaft hummed oddly, glowing blue—like some engine spooling up.
Boooom!!
The floor exploded again. Amid flying debris, my body spun through the air. I'd been blasted right out of the corridor, plummeting toward the gaping central lobby on the first floor.
"Gahk...!"
Air heaved from my lungs. I clung to consciousness, slowly rolling my eyes. A crater scarred the corridor where I'd been, exposing girders and wires. No Exose there.
Finding her wasn't hard, though—just follow the thruster roar and maniacal shouts.
"Is this truly the end, Earl? I wouldn't want this strike to be the coup de grâce!"
Exose flew in on flames, flashing a creepy smile. Guess she enjoyed returning my earlier trick. Her cherubs flapped behind, loyally providing BGM—their damn trumpets blasting the climax of a march.
'These concept-obsessed lunatics.'
I needed a longbow—a really big one. Or a cannon. Anything to cure this anachronistic knight fetish.
'But how...?'
Tumbling through the air, I racked my brain. Warm liquid trickled from my forehead, fogging my mind further. Then, amid the haze, images surfaced.
Golden waves, electric spears, inscrutable motions shredding signals. They sharpened like upping resolution, etching vividly into my brain.
Dying hallucination? But unremembered experiences whispered it was real.
"Come on, show me something! Planning to follow Daddy already? Quite the filial son."
"You fucking...!"
No reason not to believe. My reconstructed body was proof. Just needed my will to execute.
So if I want it, I can make it happen?
Squeeze.
I clenched my fist. Mimicking the sensation from reverie, I willed something to surge from my body.
"Grrk...!"
Flames erupted from my heart—burning like actual fire, filthy agony! Gritting my teeth, I directed it through willpower, letting it course everywhere.
Golden light bloomed from my chest core, flooding my limbs—like molten gold replacing blood in my veins.
Did it work?
"Oh... ooooooh!!!"
Exose gasped in awe, not me. She stared in rapture. The knight, already close, gripped her lance tight and thrust.
Whoosh—thwack.
I casually batted the tip aside, closing to arm's reach. The white knight showed no panic—quite the opposite, blooming into a grin.
"Knew it! I believed you wouldn't go down easy! Hiding your power?!"
"Nah, forgot about it—thanks for the reminder. Eternally grateful."
"Taking your head will be the pinnacle of my journey! The spirit of dragon-slayer George shall watch over me!!"
"Not my problem. Eat this as thanks!!"
My golden-wave-wreathed fist smashed her face guard. Metal crumpled inward, the sensation vivid. The over-augmented knight spewed orange flames backward, crashing spike-first into the department store lobby floor.
My scattering mind followed, slicing through the air in pursuit.