13 The Crew’s Power (1)

By the time we met with Heath and Joseph, they were empty-handed, unable to catch a single fish. We headed north through the woods and a few kilometres later we arrived at a new battlefield, one that was still intact. This time the training was going to be quite different.

Dominic, Joseph, and Heath would use their unique powers to fight. Dominic had swords with him, while Joseph would take advantage of monstrous his strength and speed against me. And finally, I would see Heath's true power and discover what was the ability of a Transmuter.

Heath was the first to challenge me. Joseph gave me some tips on how I should defend myself and Dominic made sure that Heath had full control over his ability. Finally, we both met face to face on the plain field where the combat was about to start.

"Please don't judge me by what you will see now Althea." said Heath, showing a concerned expression that was not typical of him.

"I promise will not. Even though we met not so long, I already know the real you, so no matter what you show me today, I won't judge." I replied, smiling at him.

He smiled back and stretched his arms.

"So, get ready. I promise to take it as lightly as possible."

He took off his shirt and threw it at Dominic, closing his eyes and leaning over. It looked like an animal in an attack position. Suddenly, it appeared as if Heath's body had exploded. In the place of my friend an unknown ferocious and gigantic animal appeared, like a mixture of a bear and a wolf. A snout grew in his face and a deadly row of sharp teeth appeared. The fight had started.

I had no time to be surprised. With a jump, the creature in front of me disappeared, running at surprising speed. I heard a snap behind me and immediately dodged a furious blow, which missed its initial target and hit the ground causing enormous damage. His strength and agility were impressive, and I couldn't follow his movements with my eyes.

"First, I must slow him down. Make him within my reach and then find a weakness." I thought, trying to remember everything Joseph had said before.

"If I can dodge his next blow, I must make him hit something solid. This will slow Heath down for a while which will give me a good opportunity to immobilize him."

Before I found anything to carry out my plan, Heath appeared in front of me with his paw raised, ready for another attack. I was able to quickly raise my hands and create a shield of energy which prevented him from hitting me, bouncing his blow. I had never done that before and I was stupefied for a few seconds trying to understand what exactly happened. Heath also backed away in surprise.

"Wow!" Joseph shouted. "Is it my impression or did she just create a wall between them?"

Noticing my distraction, Heath pulled himself together and attacked me again, now succeeding in landing a blow. I couldn't do anything to defend myself except to raise my right arm at the level of my face. His extremely sharp claws made a large cut from my wrist to my elbow.

Whether it hurts or not, I had just found something solid " my own arm " that would slow Heath's speed. As expected, he took some time to change his position and create a new attack, which gave me the perfect opportunity to try a new extension of my abilities.

I raised my injured arm and grabbed Heath's muzzle, forcing him to meet my eyes and risking a bite in my hands. I focused only on what I was about to test.

I concentrated on gathering all my power in my hand and converting my opponent's energy into my own energy, draining it from his body, with as little damage as possible to him. I was confident and knew I could handle that blow perfectly.

Heath's body hesitated for a few seconds and, with no further sign of consciousness, collapsed to the floor.

Across the field were Dominic and Joseph, both paralyzed, gaping, and as surprised as I was. I turned to my opponent's body, which was now returning to the shape of a human. I walked away while Dominic stood in front of me and helped his unconscious friend. I continued in a state of shock: the fight had been very easy, and the damage was zero if I did not consider the cut on my arm.

"Did you kill him?" Joseph asked in a weak voice.

"No. I only made him unconscious." I said, surprised by his question.

"Yes." Confirmed Dominic. "He's sleeping like a baby."

The three of us faced each other in silent until Joseph gave out a burst of loud laughter.

"What a fright! You finished a Transmuter without mercy and in a matter of minutes! A Transmuter!" he said shocked.

"Are you hurt?" Asked Dominic, analyzing my body looking for wounds.

"No. I'm ready for the next one." I answered, hiding my arm.

"Your turn, Joseph."

A twinge of excitement flooded Joseph's face. Now I was sure that he would not go easy on me.

It didn't take more than a few minutes of rest before I was already in another fight. I had already won against Joseph once, but I knew that he never used his full capacity.

Joseph took two gauntlets out of his pocket and put them on. I didn't wait for his attack this time. Immediately I went to him and gave him an Impulsum. He deflected quickly and attacked me right after. Luckily, I dodged it, but without even wavering, he dashed in my direction once more, managing to land a blow on my stomach. I hit the ground and rolled for a few meters, feeling the pain of his punch.

I knew he wouldn't give me time to recover from that blow, so I got up quickly, ignoring the pain. I launched a wave of energy towards him (a power that I had discovered the day before, which was capable of destroying everything on a straight line). My attack was fast, but it was as if Joseph had predicted what I would do, and he easily deflected it.

That was it. Joseph was anticipating every movement of mine, making it impossible to defeat him when he was fighting using his powers.

I should then find a way to attack him with a blast that would be impossible to avoid.

I had then an idea. If it was possible to create a wall with my energy, it should be possible to create four. A force field. The difference is that it would not be around me, but around my enemy. It could work… However, I knew I would have to act fast since it would be very difficult to hold Joseph for long.

As if he had seen through my thoughts, Joseph moved away from me, but the distance didn't matter as long as I could see him. The opportunity was perfect.

In seconds, my trap was ready. Without mercy I managed to lock Joseph inside invisible walls, though, he didn't stand still. Joseph started strongly hitting the barrier surrounding him, making my head throb after each blow. I needed to be fast.

I ran closer, raised my two hands, and concentrated the most energy possible on them, landing two times stronger Impulsum. At the same moment, the wall broke and Joseph went flying. I noticed that he had anyhow managed to avoid a good part of the damage, but I hoped that he wouldn't try to get up. After that, I needed rest, and if he insisted on continuing, it would have meant that it was a lost battle for me. I could feel that I had almost dislocated both arms with the last attack.

Luckily for me, he held out the white flag and declared that I had done enough, but I still knew he was capable of so much more, just like Heath was. Dominic immediately came to meet me, and I leaned on him to keep myself from falling on the grass. Joseph was now about ten meters away, sitting on the floor, rubbing a small cut on his head. Slowly he got up and came closer to the two of us, sitting across in front of me.

"That hurt Althea." He complained. "You realized that I was predicting your movements, right?"

"Yes, but I almost missed that last blow; it is impossible to hold that barrier for too long." I answered. "But even so, I could see that you weren't fighting with your full powers yet."

"Maybe next time." he laughed.

"No, thanks." I answered, making a face of panic. "I'm sorry for this."

I pointed at his head and he rolled his eyes. The cut was almost healed.

"Is not fair." I muttered. "My wounds hurt for a long time before healing."

"Well, that is one of the benefits of having the powers from a sacred fountain." said Dominic trying to comfort me.

"It's your turn now Dominic. I'm going to join Heath and get some rest. Poor him. He is missing this spectacle."

That said, Joseph walked away and sat by our unconscious friend. There was still one more challenge ahead for me.

I sent my most convincing look to Dominic and he turned away.

"Please don't start." he asked.

"Ten minutes! Only that." I begged.

"You have five."

I broke into a smile and dropped to the floor. Having five minutes of rest was better than nothing.

He immediately joined me, and I could hear Joseph complaining from a distance. He was dying to see how Dominic was going to fight against at me. The day before, our fight had been embarrassing, and none of us could fully focus. It was very difficult for Dominic, just as it was for me. However, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to defeat him, even if I would attack with my full capability.

"The sword you are using today is different." I said, pointing out to the fancy weapon.

"Yes, this one is much more powerful. It has the power of an alchemical stone. But still, it is not my main weapon."

"More powerful. More dangerous."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." answered Dominic.

"That's good. Joseph once told me that he would never dare to face you in a real fight. I also don't have any desire to go against you, especially if you will be fighting seriously."

"I also hope you never have to see me fighting seriously."

His face contorted in an expression of disgust.

"Is it that terrible for you?" I asked indiscreetly.

"Quite terrible. When I fight for real, rarely does my opponent come out alive. They have to be a very dangerous person for me to make me do so... at least nowadays. Not that I don't have control, but I don't forgive a real enemy. But I confess I don't want you to ever see me killing anyone. I don't want you to have such an image in your mind. " He replied with the pain in his voice.

I took Dominic's hand instinctively. Unfortunately, I knew that was something we couldn't avoid.

"Dominic, there is nothing in this world that would make me despise you. If you ever have to fight with all your power, don't hesitate." I spoke caressing his hand. I hated to see his strained expression. "Believe me, I heard and witnessed what real cruelty is when I was imprisoned and I'm sure you would never kill a person just for pleasure. I learned to recognize a real killer and I know that you are not one."

"Not anymore, I hope."

The silence then took place, and we continued looking at each other with serious expressions. Then, Dominic brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"Damn it."

"What?" I asked.

"The five minutes are over."

He stood up and held out his hand to help me.

"At least I'm sure you'll be nice to me." I said smiling.

"You are very good at manipulating people's feelings. A perfect Descendant. I hope you will use this ability to your advantage in the future." he said, laughing.

"Well, unfortunately, I think I only have that influence on you."

"Finally!" Shouted Joseph across the field. Dominic ignored him.

"Get ready Althea."

I distanced myself from Dominic while still facing him. He drew his sword and, after hesitating a little, came towards me. It was time.

He was still about a few meters away when he made a sudden movement with his sword, cutting the air. I felt a gust of wind coming with his first attack and an intense light almost blinded me. That was a warning.

The talent Dominic had with the blades was amazing. His strokes combined with his strength seemed to be unbeatable. The offensive he had just carried out was a spectacular technique in my opinion: it was a combination of strength, agility, and the wind. The cut he had made in the air became something concrete. That meant that he was able to make long"ranged attacks, even though he was using only swords.

I blocked his blow and started moving in his direction. He then raised his sword and moved it mercilessly against me. I immobilized his armed arm and turned to his side while trying to use the same ambush I had used with Heath. However, Dominic noticed and immediately stopped my attack.

He stretched his free arm and created a barrier, preventing me from escaping. With a certain severity, he dragged me to him and with a thud, I crashed into his chest. Soon after, he touched lightly his sword against my neck.

"I got you." He said, sounding proud.

"It's only the first round." I replied, trying to free myself. His arm felt like a steel bar around my waist and, after a moment of hesitation, he seemed not to find any excuse for not letting me go and lowered his arm.

We then return to our initial position.