CH. 38 - Learn to Work Together

Saika "Guys! Listen to me, let's stand back for a moment and-"

He tries to get their attention but Dante and Yoko are busy on the offensive as Abalm casually blocks the attacks. 

Abalm "Hunter."

Saika's eyes widen as Abalm stares at him.

Abalm "Vanguard are unruly. If you want them to obey, you must show them."

Yoko "Shut up you freak! We work together just fine!"

They shout as Dante and Yoko charge him at the same time. Dante steps up first and quickly disappears from in front of him and reappears above and behind him, punching Abalm across the face but he quickly grabs onto his wrist.

Abalm "You made the observation that even without powers my strength is too much. How are you foolish enough to attack leaving my powers active?"

Dante "Because.."

He says before closing his eyes then reopening them releasing the bright blue energy right into Abalm's face.

Dante "I needed a clear shot!"

He deactivates Abalm's powers for the moment as Yoko rushes in. They slam their foot down before delivering a heavy punch into the right side of his ribcage.

Abalm 'They aimed right for my liver… While my powers were shut off..!'

Southpaw "Hmm!"

He hums, impressed by the moves.

Abalm lets go of Dante as he lands.

Dante "Alright Yoko let's go!"

They both then drive a double uppercut against him, sending him flying into the air. He quickly dashes back, seemingly off the air itself, and up into the air and onto a tall tree branch. 

Yoko "Don't go running now!-"

Both of them take a step forward to charge after him but are quickly stopped.

Saika "Guys stop!"

He shouts while yanking them both back by the collars only for two logs to stab right into the ground where they were. They look shocked before growling at Abalm.

Abalm "Good call Hunter. Had they taken that step, something bad might have happened."

Saika "We have to work together. If the three of us attack simultaneously, just like you guys did, we can take him down-"

He gets a flash of the Stranger from the mall attack as he sweats with a regretful look.

Saika "No matter how tough he is!"

Abalm "Time for a final lesson. Log…"

He says as his hands glow like before.

Killian "He's right."

He says from way up. Abalm quickly looks over to see Killian diving at him from another tree branch.

Killian "It's time we listen to our Hunters! We were assigned them for a reason!"

He grabs onto Abalm's arm and using his bone power, wraps a bone chain around it connected to his own arm. 

Killian "That's enough of that."

He says with a smirk.

Abalm "Why you-"

Moshiro "Saika, follow my lead!"

She shouts as she rushes up the tree with her right arm out. Her arm begins to glow with the white scale markings again.

Moshiro "Hollow White… Snap!"

She shouts as she crushes the branch Abalm was standing on causing it to fall. Saika's eyes widen.

Saika 'I see! She's pinning his power and keeping him on the ground, out of his element!' "Don't let him jump back into the trees! Hammer on him while Killian keeps his powers pinned!"

He shouts as Dante and Yoko look at each other and nod with smirks before charging after Abalm.

Saika "Dante, don't use your powers, if Killian's ability gets turned off, we'll be back at square one!"

Dante "Right!"

He then disappears. The moment one of Abalm's feet hits the ground, Dante reappears and strikes him across the face knocking him off balance. He grunts from the attack, falling to the side as Yoko rushes up and kicks at his face straight up. Blood spills from his mouth as he is lifted into the air.

Abalm 'Such force..!'

Southpaw "Ohho! They seem to have finally figured out how to listen. Working as a team is good but this is a 3rd Tier Vanguard they're facing. And it seems they're forgetting one fact about their opponent."

He says with impressed eyes.

Sharp "Why are you commentating like that?"

She asks with a blank stare as Southpaw droops a bit.

Moshiro watches the attack but has a stressed look on her face.

Moshiro 'Pinning his power and keeping him on the ground works but without Dante deactivating his ability, that means he'll have his full Myth Type strength and durability. It won't matter how many times we hit him if we can't take him down.'

With one arm, he grabs Dante's head and slams it against Yoko's, stunning them both for a moment. He then yanks Killian over and slams him against them, his bone whip still holding on. 

Abalm "When I was at the academy, I might've held back on the students too much. Out here, things are different."

He puts his hands together and begins to form a log.

Abalm "Log…"

His arm is then yanked away by Killian.

Killian "My Hunter gave me an order."

Saika comes dashing past Killian.

Saika "Good boy."

Killian smirks as Saika blitzes to Abalm who swings at him but Saika quickly dodges, flipping into the air with blue lighting wrapping him.

Saika "Sparking Wheel!"

He shouts before slamming a lighting kick against Abalm's forehead. He falls to one knee with a grunt before he grabs onto Saika's leg. 

Killian "Saika!"

He pulls back, preparing to throw Saika but Yoko quickly rushes up and slams another punch against his right side left open by his attack. He grunts again, letting go of Saika who hits the ground. He then backhands Yoko who blocks it but is still sent flying. He then jumps up into the air in an attempt to gain distance but Moshiro notices and dives after him.

Moshiro 'Should I call Dante? Can I keep him down myself? I-'

She thinks before slamming into Abalm, knocking him over a bit.

Abalm "Keep me on the ground or let me go, makes no difference. The lesson's over."

He says, looking at Moshiro whose eyes widen. He then punches Moshiro back into the ground.

Abalm "Mill Fist!"

Only a moment after the attack, Killian yanks his arm down.

Killian "Damn, no! I wasn't fast enough!"

Abalm hits the ground and immediately bolts to Killian with his fist raised. Too fast for him to react, Abalm strikes.

Abalm "Mill Fist!"

He shouts again, sending Killian hurtling into a nearby tree and breaking the bones wrapping his arm. Dante, Yoko and Saika charge him.

Saika "All together now!"

Abalm "You're missing a part of your team."

He says before pulling both his fists back.

Abalm "Millers Fists!"

He shouts, sending a barrage of punches that bombard the trio, sending them tumbling across the ground. They groan in pain as Abalm turns to Moshiro who struggles to get up.

Moshiro "Dammit… I should've-"

She says with blood spilling out of her mouth.

Abalm "You should've called for backup when tackling me. You knew that yet you refused to use your team anyway. A lesson you will learn the hard way."

He says while stomping towards her. The rest of the team struggles to get back up as Moshiro's eyes are wide, filled with fear as Abalm raises his hand towards her. 

Moshiro 'Yoko!'

Yoko's eyes widen as they get up and look over to see Abalm slowly reaching towards Moshiro who shakes in fear. Yoko gets up with a grunt as they pant heavily.

Yoko "Stay away…"

They stomp forward, crushing the ground beneath their foot, diving towards Abalm, their fist pulled back to attack. 

Yoko "From my partner!"

They shout. Abalm quickly looks at Yoko only to be met by their heavy fist slamming into his face with intense force. They all look shocked as Abalm grunts a bit, blood falling from his nose. He falls backwards and hits the ground with a loud thud as Yoko pants staring down at him. 

Dante "N-no way!"

Killian "They finally got him?"

They say while getting up. Moshiro stares at him for a moment before Yoko offers their hand to help her up. She takes it and gets to her feet with a grunt, holding her side.

Yoko "You okay?"

Moshiro "Yeah, thanks for that."

Yoko smiles smugly.

Yoko "Of course, human! It is only natural for a mighty dragon to defend the weak."

Moshiro droops a bit with a frustrated glare at Yoko but doesn't bite back. 

Saika "That was awesome Yoko!"

Dante "And it only took one punch!"

Killian "Well that's just not true."

He says with a sweat drop. Moshiro looks over as Abalm who groans a bit.

Moshiro "We're not done yet."

Yoko looks over before huffing and stomping over to him. He shakes his head a bit before seeing the group standing over him, preparing to attack. His eyes grow wide as he puts his hands up.

Abalm "Woah! Hey now, let's not get too violent!"

Yoko "Give me a good reason, dink."

Abalm "Because you're academy students and you've already beat me."

Dante "I dunno. Maybe we should put him down, just for good measure."

Yoko "Oh, word?"

They say with an evil sharp tooth grin. Abalm freaks out and crawls back a bit.

Abalm "Wait! Wait, I have to tell you something!"

Moshiro "Tell us what?"

Abalm "About my Hunter, Crystal. Your friends are in danger."

They realize the weight of his words. Killian exhales before restraining Abalm with a bone whip wrapped around him. They step back for a moment.

Saika "You think he's telling the truth? Could they be in more danger than we were?"

Moshiro "It's possible."

Dante "But they have Wolf and Phoenix on their team."

Abalm "That's not enough."

They look at him as he gives them a serious look.

Abalm "It's not just about how strong someone is. It's about how you work as a team. The five of you were only able to stop me because you worked together. But her? She's got a real problem with working with others."

Killian sweats a bit.

Killian "Wolf…"

Saika "So I guess no more escaping?"

Killian "If they're in trouble, we need to help them. We're a team."

Dante "Well,"

He cracks his neck with a smirk.

Dante "I guess we can do a little more."

Yoko "Not like we're worn out or anything."

They say with a sarcastic smirk.

Killian "Right. We'll do what we can."

He turns but before they can move, Abalm speaks.

Abalm "There's something else I must tell you…"

He says as they all face him with curious looks. He then speaks, mute are his words as Killian's eyes widen at what he hears.