Chapter 92: The Anthology Returns to Despair (Part 2)

Laurie: "Hah!"

Sighing exasperatedly with a sulking head,

Laurie: "How annoying!"

She comments on how her chance to kill Ethan was taken away from her by her fellow Hellfire who doesn't even seem to have any interest in becoming the Phoenix.

Even so, knowing that she isn't completely at a loss, she then turns her attention to the only possible target remaining,

Laurie: "Tell me, Sneha Stone,"

And asks her a degrading question.

Laurie: "How long do you think you will last against me?"

As if it's already written in stone that Laurie would win and Sneha would lose.

Sneha: "..."

However, her mocking tone of her opponent doesn't draw any reaction as the Aural merely stands there with a fighting stance, something that irritates her even more.

Laurie: "Well, if you don't want to answer, then we'll just have to see for ourselves, huh?"

Saying so, the brunette Hellfire disappears from right in front of Sneha and appears right behind her.

This is a tactic that she has seen Kais use many times so she's familiar with it but,

Laurie: "Too slow!"

The Hellfire's speed and power when executing the strategy far surpass what Kais has ever shown. And, as such, Sneha fails to defend, being knocked over from behind and ending up rolling on the ground until she hits a tree to stop her momentum.

Laurie: "Aren't Aurals supposed to be powerhouses in fighting? And I had even heard that you are a really talented one. Man, talk about disappointing!"

The Hellfire continues to mock her. But, even so, Sneha merely stands up and readies herself for the next move, taking up her stance once again.

Laurie: "Tsk!"

For someone who can't stop running their mouth because of how much they love to mock their opponents and see them in pain, 'no reaction' is possibly the best way to mock them back for their pettiness.

That said though, Sneha doesn't do so with that intention, it's just that she doesn't see any need to talk, not during a battle, and most of the times, not outside a battle either.

Laurie: "What a boring opponent!"

Most people may call someone like her a quiet person. And, if, even after being partners with her for so long, Ethan Kales doesn't see any need to contradict that sentiment, then it must be true.

Laurie: "Guess there's no point in prolonging this fight when it's so boring."

Saying so, the Hellfire uses Geokinesis again, but this time, instead of making the ground shake, she uses it to the break apart the ground right under Sneha's feet, throwing her off balance.

Using that chance she gets from her opponent being off-balance, Laurie charges straight at Sneha with her fists as hard as iron and the speed of an ostrich.

Sneha, having become off-balance, fails to dodge in time despite trying to, and becomes the victim of her opponent's repeated punching that makes her bones crackle and her guts almost rupturing.

Laurie: "Ha!"

Scoffing at Sneha's seemingly pathetic figure, Laurie scoffs.

Laurie: "You know, I might have been wrong before."

She says with a grin.

Laurie: "Beating up someone who is so easy to beat but can take the beating and try to stay standing - it's fun too."

Like a spoiled child hammering down on a doll, Laurie continues her attacks without any precision or timing but just brute force.

One could say that Sneha has met her match.

After all,

Laurie: "Ha! Ha! Hahaha!"

Brute force is what the Aurals surpass Psychics at. It's the one thing that increases their chances of winning against any Psychic provided the Psychic doesn't get time to run away.

So, if the Aural is being overpowered by brute force, then there's no way she can strike back, right?

And yet,

Laurie: "U-ugh!"

Laurie's attacks suddenly stop, and her eyes move down to her right knee - which no longer seems to be folding the way it should be.

Laurie: "W-wha-ugh!"

She falls to the ground, blood rushing to her throat.

But, before she ends up puking, a jab with two fingers at her throat stops the flow - in addition to destroying her voice.

Laurie: "... A … Agh!"

She tries to make out words but her voice just wouldn't come out, and she is left there, standing on one knee, with her opponent taking her time to charge her fist so she could -

Sneha: "I am not very vengeful, but I don't like being mocked, Ms Hellfire."

Attack Laurie the same way she was attacked - with a constant flurry of brute force destroying her bones and muscles, all while the broken bones and muscles of the Aural heal so her attacks become more and more powerful with time.

What happened here was something very simple.

The Aural waited for her chance to attack a weak spot of the Hellfire and then attacked it, then used the momentum from that to stop her voice, and using the shock from that to take her little vendetta.

It was a simple display of strategy.

Laurie: "A … agh!"

As her body goes flying back 10 yards with her face swollen and her muscles hurting, she barely makes sense of where she went wrong.

And where did she went wrong?

She wasn't wrong in assuming that the Aurals would fight with brute force so not much strategizing is required against one.

But, the thing is, she is up against an Aural that has spent the last some years of her life as a partner in crime of Ethan Kales. Laurie Brown just failed to realize the significance of that.

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Ethan: "I can see him."

Gabriel: "Who?"

Ethan: "Abgere."

Hearing so, Gabriel seems uninterested.

Gabriel: "Him, huh? Well, whatever!"

Ethan, having been in a situation of complete loss before, knows how he must be feeling. But, also having been in a situation of running away from a powerful enemy while in that despaired state, also knows that Gabriel needs to get over it as soon as he can.

Gabriel: "Don't give me that look!"

And so, he eyes Gabriel with a condescending glare, to which Gabriel clicks his tongue and makes himself stand.

Ethan: "What are you planning to do now?"

Gabriel: "Ha!"

Scoffing at the question, Gabriel Washington says,

Gabriel: "My purpose may have changed but I am still going to need to find and have a little chat with Rosevelt."

Seeing the rage inside him, Ethan asks with an awkward expression,

Ethan: "Have you joined Abgere's camp of people who want to kill Rosevelt?"

Gabriel: "Ha! I am not quite sure."

He says, turning to the direction Ethan was looking in earlier when he said he could see a certain someone through his special eyes.

Gabriel: "Speaking of him, where did you see him?"

In no way is the Hellfire over the shock, loss and despair he has needed to face, but, he is strong-willed enough to subside his feelings and focus on the situation at hand.

Ethan: "Well, about that."

His troubled expression growing more troubled, Ethan points in the direction he had seen Abgere's aura in and says,

Ethan: "He doesn't seem to be alone though. There are Spectres there as well."

Gabriel: "Spectres!? What the heck is that guy doing?"

Ethan: "No idea!"

Ethan says, and sighs.

Ethan: "And to get an idea, we need to go there."

It isn't a suggestion but Ethan Kales telling Gabriel Washington what he will do. So, Gabriel says,

Gabriel: "Well, then let's get going."

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