Saving Natasha

Luke was flying over the Jericho Forest at high speed. Wednesday was on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck. Her black pigtails fluttered in the force of the wind.

[Distance?] Wednesday asked through their mental link.

[58km. We'll arrive in about thirty minutes,] Luke replied.

[How many enemies?] Wednesday asked.

[Three. From a clan called Kairia. Never heard of them,] Luke responded.

[Clan of exiles involved in assassinations and shady dealings. As far as I know, they're all half-breeds who were shunned and expelled from their families, so they banded together in this clan,] Wednesday explained.

[Mm, then they shouldn't be powerful,] Luke remarked. Half-breeds had less talent than someone fully outcast. This wasn't like Harry Potter, where half-bloods could be the most powerful.

[Don't be overconfident. They have a strong reputation for being effective in the missions they take. They're half-breeds who face outcasts ones, and yet they can still kill their targets,] Wednesday said.

She trusts her strength but never underestimates an enemy. As for Luke, he's become more arrogant since defeating Atlas, a gorgon over a hundred years old who wielded mythical bronze.

[You know a lot about the dark dealings of the outcast world,] Luke said with a slight smile.

[I've always liked dark and underground topics, like demons, dark rituals, assassin clans…] Wednesday replied, beginning to list several dark and shady subjects that piqued her interest.

As they flew, the landscape changed. The trees became much taller, surpassing thirty meters in height, with wide trunks ranging between 1.5 and 3 meters in diameter. Their canopies, situated at the top, formed a dense network of foliage, though spaced far enough apart to allow broad stretches of space between them.

Luke flew above the trees at a height of about 50 meters. Thanks to his enhanced vision and the gaps between the trees, he noticed a figure running at great speed through the forest, zigzagging between the trunks in a clear attempt to escape.

Luke immediately recognized the figure by her distinctive red hair. It was Natasha. She didn't look in good shape. She had several cuts bleeding from different parts of her body, and she was limping. However, her speed was incredible, giving her a slight lead over her three pursuers.

[There they are,] Luke said, his expression more furious than before at seeing Natasha's condition because of these three men.

Wednesday had to focus her eyes to make out the four figures in the distance. Though her vision was sharp, it couldn't compare to Luke's, a clairvoyant.

A clairvoyant can enhance their vision to a level comparable to an eagle's, and even surpass that bird.

'Three auras…' thought Wednesday, unable to deny feeling a bit envious. Having three auras already put you on a completely different level.

[A fat guy, a skeleton, and a dwarf. What a peculiar group,] Luke commented as he began descending rapidly toward their new enemies.

The leader of the group was a tall, lanky, pale person who looked like a skeleton. His skin clung to his bones and was ghostly pale. He had curly black hair, black-painted lips, and even black-painted nails. He looked like a drug-addicted rocker.

To his right was a large, overweight man with a big belly. He wore a black t-shirt and dark pants. He also had multiple piercings in his ears.

Lastly, the short man had a more normal expression compared to his two companions. Too normal. He had brown bowl-cut hair, a gray jacket, and pants.

[If I had to guess, the skeleton is a vampire, the fat guy a werewolf, and the dwarf… I don't know,] said Wednesday as she got a clearer look at the three men.

Luke was about to say something when Wednesday, without waiting, interrupted him.

[The skeleton is mine,] she said, and without giving any time for replies, she launched into the attack.

Wednesday leaned forward, resting her hands on Luke's shoulders, and in one smooth and fluid motion, propelled herself with great force. The momentum, combined with the speed at which they were flying, catapulted her with impressive acceleration.

The skeleton only had time to lift his head and see Wednesday holding her dark scythe, making a downward cut toward him. The strike descended quickly and lethally, aimed directly at the skeleton man's head.

In a swift reflex, the man raised his pale, bony hands to protect himself. From those hands, a dark stream of blood erupted, quickly molding into a shield that covered him from the black blade of the scythe.

Wednesday's scythe collided with the blood shield, and a sharp sound resonated in the air. The blood shield withstood the impact for only three seconds before crumbling, allowing the scythe to continue on its path.

However, those three seconds of resistance gave the man just enough time to evade the blow, though not entirely. The black blade grazed his skull, leaving a long wound that pierced through his scalp, from which blood began to flow.

'A vampire, just as I expected,' Wednesday thought, watching as the vampire man staggered back, his eyes filled with surprise and fury fixed on her.

"Are you okay, Shark?" asked the short man, approaching his companion. The vampire named Shark nodded slightly without taking his gaze off Wednesday.

The fat man didn't stop to check on his teammate. He ran toward Wednesday, his large right arm transforming into the arm of a werewolf, covered in gray fur and ending in claws.

His furry fist gained more strength and size as it headed toward Wednesday, who remained frozen in place with a stoic expression.

Just before the werewolf's fist got any closer to Wednesday, Luke arrived, surrounded by numerous condensed telekinetic waves around his fist.

BAM!

Both fists collided, creating a shockwave that stirred up a large amount of wind and dust. Luke's condensed telekinetic waves were released, unleashing a power that surpassed that of the werewolf, who was pushed back about ten meters.

'He didn't go flying. His strength is good,' Luke thought, shaking his hand slightly.

With his telekinetic punches, he could send Atlas flying, a gorgon who possessed mythical bronze. Although he never had a fistfight with the gorgon; it was more likely he would have lost. Luke always dodged his blows and then struck back, sending him flying.

"Nevermore uniforms… You must be Luke Poe and you're Wednesday Addams," said the vampire named Shark, examining Luke and Wednesday.

"Correct. Should we give you a prize? I didn't bring any candy with me," Luke commented with a slight mocking smile, searching through his empty pockets.

'Great arrogance. It's normal after he killed the gorgon and the children of Elliot Spellman. I must use this to my advantage,' Shark thought.

He was more concerned about the girl with the stoic expression holding a dark scythe. It wouldn't be good for the Kairia clan to make enemies with the Addams family, a powerful family of psychics.

'We can't kill her,' Shark thought, drawing a long knife.

"Blue aura?" commented the short man. They had been chasing Natasha for days. They knew she was cut off from communication; she didn't have a phone. The only way she could ask for help would be through telepathy.

"That means—"

Before the short man could continue speaking, an invisible force pinned him down. He could no longer move a single muscle, not even his jaw to speak.

Wednesday, who had been still, raised her hand and made a slight gesture pointing at the man.

From the ground where the man stood, spikes of darkness emerged, piercing him from different angles. They penetrated his body with great precision. He couldn't do anything about the sudden immobilization.

That wasn't all; Luke pointed at him with his hand and lifted the dying little man into the air. With a swift motion, he directed him toward the ground with overwhelming force.

The ground trembled as the man's body hit with such intensity that his bones broke with a sharp crack. The screams of pain quickly extinguished, and the body lay sprawled in a grotesque position, barely moving.

Shark and the werewolf could do nothing to defend their companion. Everything happened in a matter of seconds. Luke and Wednesday didn't even exchange a glance to execute the coordinated attack.

"I wonder what kind of outcast he was," Luke remarked, resting a hand on his chin.

"It doesn't matter. He was weak," Wednesday replied, her gaze filled with disdain for the short man's body. There was not a trace of regret or confusion in her expression for having killed a man in a matter of seconds.

Shark and the werewolf frowned slightly. They were not angry about their companion's death. They felt no such camaraderie. Moreover, the short man was the weakest of the three, so his death wasn't a significant blow to their battle power.

Luke and Wednesday didn't say another word. Each of them launched at great speed toward their enemy.

Wednesday against Shark and Luke against the fat man.

'Let's see how strong you are, Kairia Clan,' Luke thought, propelling himself with a telekinetic wave toward the werewolf.

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