CHAPTER 2

Floating between Hazel and me, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ floated beside me like a guardian spirit as Hazel closed the distance between us.

On his seventh step towards me, he entered the range of my Stand, and ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ blurred out of existence.

"MUDA!"

A silver arm shot out and dug into the tanned cheek of Hazel, but the man didn't even reach as he grabbed ⌈Silver Bullet⌋'s extended arm! The shock at him even touching my Stand caused ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ to not react in time to pull his arm back.

Letting out a growl, Hazel used both arms to grab onto my Stand's arm and neck and started glowing a bright hue of red, the bright orange crystal jabbed into his shoulder brightens —

*PHSCCCCHHHHH!*

'H-Hot! Shit, it's burns!'

A huge burst of fire manifested around Hazel's arm as my Stand's arm and neck started to get charred. I gave out a choked gasp as my own body parts corresponding to my Stand started getting burned alive as well.

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"

My Stand cries out as its free arm started bashing Hazel's side with a flurry of blurred punches, but the tight grip was still holding strong! It's as if he didn't feel anything that I was throwing at him!

"Y-You bastard!"

Using my own free arm, I tossed it to my Stand, who grabs onto it easily without even looking back. Shifting its grip with the weapon, it gave out a war cry as it tried to stab it into Hazel's head.

Hazel quickly disengages, letting go and barely tilting his head in time to dodge the strike to the head. Coughing, and with tears in my eyes at the burning sensation on my neck and arm, I noticed something during that exchange.

"⌈Silver Bullet⌋!"

Yelling out my Stand's name to confirm my suspicions, it flashed into existence once more before throwing a barrage of lighting quick attacks towards Hazel who guarded against the punches.

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"

In a single second, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ threw a total of 11 punches (It would have been more if it weren't for one of its arm's damage) with the power to punch through iron easily from what I've felt.

I frowned at the lack of damage visible.

⌈Silver Bullet⌋ definitely had the brief second to shoot out a Stand Rush, but the feeling of the hits... It felt weird like there was some kind of force field now that I focus on the punch impacts.

Suddenly as I finished my thought process, a hue of dark gray surrounded Hazel's whole body... Fuck, that's the force field, wasn't it? I quickly backed off so that I could dodge the wide swing from Hazel and did some quick thinking.

A lightbulb turned on as I finally understood what was happening.

My ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ could knock someone out of commission with just a single punch with its speed and power (Coupled with using Tyrian's momentum), yet punches that were non-lethal wouldn't even cause the man to react a slight bit.

That Tyrian fellow briefly had some kind of hue too when ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ hit him, meaning they both had the same Ability set onto them (Maybe?), yet I still was able to knock him out even with the force field protecting him.

Not only that, him jabbing himself with sharp crystals that summon elements. His arms were burning, yet nothing, since no hue of gray surrounded the arms when they were on fire.

And I doubt that this kind of pain-numbing ability has an infinite duration. That meant that I either had to knock him out somehow with a good blow to the head like how I did with Tyrian (I suspect that the force field doesn't affect the brain and just the outside), or drag this fight long enough for him to run out of juice (Maybe it's running on the force field's energy?).

If only I could choose the second choice, as the woman behind me was bleeding out slowly from the growing pile of blood surrounding her.

Her injuries... Healed somehow, but some major damage like the large gash on her back and the fucking hole in her side were still present, no matter how less blood was flowing out of the wounds. Must be the same kind of force field? All of world's humans have this ability maybe?

Need to get her to safety or help as soon as I can, I'm not going to leave an inured person alone to die, that was not how I do things.

OK, enough thinking, time to go to work. The pain from my arm and neck has already disappeared, most likely due to adrenaline.

"I figured out your Stand Ability, Hazel."

Yeah, one good hit would do. A flash of instructions flowed through my mind as I gripped my fist tighter. Yeah, with ⌈Silver Bullet⌋'s Ability, I can win this right now.

Hazel looked confused.

"Stand Ability? I see, you think I have a Stand, interesting..."

That confirmed another question, everyone that I've met so far had this force field energy thing. Hazel got into a readied stance, intending on racing towards me, I could tell from his stance.

"But you will lose, no matter my Semblance. Your Stand is powerful physical-wise, I'd admit, but it isn't possible for your Stand to do enough damage."

Semblance, another thing to note into my head.

"Oh, yeah? Then come at me! I'll show you impossible!!"

I yelled out as I did something that no one would have expected. 

I ran towards Hazel with as much speed as my tiny legs could generate. I mean, what kind of weirdo would do something so stupid against someone who just said that they couldn't be defeated?

The surprised look in Hazel's eyes said it all as I made another distraction, bullshitting from the top of my head.

"Your next line will be, "You foolish child!", right?!"

"You foolish — Huh?!"

Just one second, he was stunned by what he was experiencing.

' "This kid just started running towards him even after telling him that he had no chance of winning. And now, he even predicted what I was about to say?"  That's what you're thinking aren't you, Hazel?'

That one second of hesitation, be it shock or surprise, was enough for me to get into ⌈Silver Bullet⌋'s 5-meter range! That one second was enough for me to use my Stand to its full capacity!

'Take this, Hazel!'

⌈Silver Bullet⌋ twirled the broken glaive, and split it into two. Grabbing both of the now halved shaft, it got into a throwing stance before launching both towards Hazel, aiming both glaive shafts at his chest.

The man barely reacted and raised both hands, crossed against each arm, to block the strike to the chest.

I grinned. Just as planned! Rushing towards the man to get even closer, I yelled out to my Stand.

"Now, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋: Color Up!'"

My Stand's feather-like wings glowed slightly before two feathers shot out of both wings. Soaring like a funnel from a Mobile Suit, it phased into both pieces of the glaive before the trajectory of both soaring parts shifted.

*RVMMMM!*

As if the two pieces were suddenly attracted by powerful magnets, one piece went pass Hazel's guard and slammed into his chin, causing his head to jerk to the sky with high speeds, while another went behind him before unbalancing him with a strike to the leg.

"W-What in the world?"

He said with shock as he started losing his balance. A guitar started playing a rock cover version of Il Vento D'oro in my mind as I explained his confusion.

"⌈Silver Bullet⌋'s ability, Color Up. It lets me change an object's trajectory and speed of an object. Your ability... A Semblance from what you've said, can definitely numb any pain you feel, but your brain is the master of your body, so when it is rattled with enough force..."

Hazel drops to the ground with a rough thud, as I stopped running and started walking with a limp. I already won.

He tried to move his body to get back up, but his limbs weren't listening to him and simply flailed around with no purpose. Even words couldn't form well with him slurring his words.

"It will interfere with normal brain activity, though I'm surprised that you are still conscious. Seems like your Aura is still active."

⌈Silver Bullet⌋ floated from my side to grab Hazel by his collar and raised him up in the air.

ゴ

ゴ

ゴ

ゴ

""I would lose," you said? "It's impossible," hmm? Well, it seems that it is you who had lost because you underestimated me, and overestimated your Semblance. You're not as invincible as you thought, Hazel, and now you'll pay the price!"

Saying my piece, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ started its first complete Stand Rush.

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"

The sound of thunder striking over and over again blasted loudly as ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ fired punch after punch, lasting for a whole 5 seconds. Tightening its good fist, it reels it back as its muscles bulged at the amount of tension it held before giving out one last scream.

"MUDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The punch to his jaw sent him flying as Hazel soared through the sky even with his weight, the sound of cracking signaling a shattered jaw before crashing into a tree, suffering the same fate as the scorpion tailed man named Tyrian.

⌈Silver Bullet⌋, with its job done, phased back into my body as I panted, exhausted after the Stand Rush, the guitar giving one final, yet beautiful rift.

TYRIAN CALLOWS... RETIRE!

HAZEL  RAINART ... RETIRE!

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The adrenaline pumping in my veins started rescinding as I suddenly felt a little drowsy. I stood my grown, however, and quickly summoned ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ to rip my shirt from my body.

In a blur, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ wrapped a thin layer of cloth around my arm and neck, dressing the burns so that the chance of infection reduces no matter how slight it would do. My Stand had the same injuries as me, but it still could move normally, though the arm was slower and weaker currently.

My attention quickly shifted to the lady in the ground as I quickly took a look at her wounds. The most minor wounds have already been clotted with blood, and from what I was seeing, the woman's force field was covering the major ones. The hole on her side was surrounded with purple, though, so my eyes turned to look at scorpion man's tail.

"Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

Poison, she was poisoned.

Muttering a curse, I quickly called ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ to my side. Muttering an apology for doing something indecent, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ gently took her clothes off before using the remainder of my shirt to wrap the major wounds tightly, just in case her force field disappears and blood starts leaking out.

Her clothes had a lot of gashes and slits, but I still redressed the lady, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ suddenly felt something vibrating in one of her dress' back pocket. It might help with calling for the authorities, so I reached into her dress that I took off before taking the object out.

Looking at it, I blinked in confusion. It was a white, rectangular object, its width thinner than a smartphone. There was a very small golden diamond-shaped piece in the middle that was flashing in a constant blink.

I felt that the center-piece could be pushed down, so I did so —

["Summer?! What's the situation? Summer!"]

The rough, low voice of a man screamed into the device in my hand, the surprise almost making me drop the phone if not for ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ grabbing it midair — Huh, ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ was carrying her with only one hand, that's good to know.

'OK, Jordan, you got this. Speak clearly, and for the life of me, do not stutter!'

"H-Hello?"

'Fuck! It's always the "hellos" that make me stutter!'

["The fuck, a kid in the Grimmla — ? That's not important now. Listen, kid, do you see a woman that has black hair with red tips?"]

"Yeah, she lost a lot of blood though, and there's a hole in her side with some kind of poison. I already wrapped some makeshift bandage around her wounds, but the poison is still there."

["Poison, shit Tyrian! Kid, I have your location, but the Bullhead can't reach so far into the forest. Actually, stay with her, I'm coming in about 10 minutes time — "]

*SHATTER!*

Unexpectedly, the force field of the woman named Summer suddenly shattered, causing blood to start pooling through the bandages. The color of her skin was starting to pale at a fast rate.

["Fuck, her Aura shattered! Hurry, fly faster!"]

["I'm trying, but the Griffphions — !"]

While the man on the phone was urging someone else, I quickly ran to a tree that was thick enough to hold Summer's and my weight. 10 minutes, it's too slow,she'll die if I don't do anything. A single chop from ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ cleaved the tree easily.

My Stand's ability can control any inanimate object and change or affect its speed and trajectory for at most 10 seconds. Quickly laying it on the ground, I sat on the trunk and gripped Summer gently to hold her in place before ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ lifted and threw the tree trunk into the sky.

A feather detaches from ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ and enters the tree trunk, which started glowing with a hue of blue. I now had control over the trunk for a few seconds. Now in the air, I looked around.

... There. My ⌈Silver Bullet⌋'s eyes could clearly see it even when it's a few dozen miles away. A weird flying vehicle without any wings could be spotted in the air — What the hell is that? Two black lion-headed eagles made of some kind of black goo, the size of elephants were surrounding the vehicle, firing feathers towards the vehicle.

That was totally my thing, by the way, and those eagles stole it! A set of machine guns were firing at it, but it did little damage to them.

Thinking of something crazy, I looked at ⌈Silver Bullet⌋. It grinned back at me as it looked with its hands pointing towards the vehivle in a camera gesture, getting into a JoJo pose!

"⌈Silver Bullet⌋, do it! Hey, man on the phone, open the vehicle's door!"

["What did you just say—?"]

*RVMMMM!*

And then inertia almost kicked me off my ride as I was launched 300 kilometers an hour towards the vehicle after a forceful push by ⌈Silver Bullet⌋. 10 seconds into the flight, my Stand's Ability enters a cooldown as the tree trunk starts to dip slightly, but I already calculated the trajectory.

If my math was correct...! NOW! The tree trunk slammed into the nearby eagle, crushing its head into black paste as ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ launched a quick barrage of "MUDA!"s towards the other eagle, killing it in one go.

The tree trunk's momentum stopped completely upon collision and as the vehicle passed us, I saw that a man with a gray attire was already standing near the flying vehicle's hangar door ready to catch us.

I held onto Summer's body as ⌈Silver Bullet⌋ places its hand on my back before we fell too far from the vehicle...

And pushed with as much force as it could place without breaking my back. I soared like a rocket through the sky for nearly two seconds before we were caught by the man who let out an "oof!".

"Objective secured, go, go, go!"

The man barked to the pilot as the plane jerked towards, with no more eagles pestering with the vehicle, it could move at a much faster pace.

'All... According... To plan!'

That was my last thought before I fell unconscious from my wounds and fatigue.

◀——–– To Be Continued

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Stand Name: ｢Silver Bullet｣

Stand Namesake: Silver Bullet – Composer: Casey Edwards

Stand User: Jordan

Stand Ability: Can control an inanimate object's speed and trajectory.

Stand Parameters

Power: B

(Strength and ability to cause destruction)

Speed: B

(Agility and reflexes as well as performance speed)

Range: D

(Range of manifestation, ability influence, and spatial mobility)

Stamina: D

(Duration of how long an ability will last)

Precision: A

(Accuracy of their abilities to specified targets)

Developmental Potential: C

(Possible functions, utilization, and capacity to improve its capabilities)