(XVIII) Struggle

Samael carefully let Serenity down and reached into his jacket before he jumped off the rooftop. He spun through the air, pulling his hand out of his coat, gripping a dozen tiny metallic spheres, and threw them. 

Sparks of electricity danced around the marbles as they rocketed toward the thug boss, arcing through the air and circling around him as each of the dozen collided against its back, each creating a miniature explosion. 

The hulking beast stumbled forward, looking up in horror as it barely reacted in time to raise its spiked baseball bat arm to block the twin blade slash from the young man. 

Samael flipped backward, throwing his swords into the air as he controlled their movements, correcting their trajectory midair and throwing his arms down as he landed. 

The two swords instantly sliced through the beast's feet as lightning crackled in the sudden appearance of clouds above before an enormous bolt of lightning shot down, striking the beast and constantly arcing between the two swords. 

Using his electromagnetism, the twin swords slowly rose, constantly electrocuting the thug boss as a demonic howl escaped its mouth, wailing in pain. 

Ichiko momentarily stood awestruck by the young man's sudden appearance before returning to reality as she unleashed a torrent of wind slashes, barely penetrating the thick, goo-like hide of the monster. 

The lightning vanished between the blades as they flipped through the air, returning to the Samael's hands as he dashed forward. He spun the blades around him as he leaped through the air, fire and ice erupting from the swords after they were coated by a supercharged plasma. 

The thug boss unleashed a deafening roar in frustration, launching his arm toward Sam, catching him off-guard as he was knocked backward, soaring through the air and crashing into the ground. 

***

"Tch!" Kaitlyn clicked her tongue in frustration, hearing the repeated demonic bellows, and turned to her brother, who nodded in agreement. 

Suddenly, the twins turned around and quickly ran away from Camille. 

"No!!! Kate!!! Nate!!! Come back, it's too dangerous!!" Cami exclaimed, turning around and chasing after the twins, but her path was instantly blocked. 

Nathan turned around as he ran, throwing his hand out and erecting a stone barrier that rose from the ground, blocking the street. 

He smirked and turned around to see Kaitlyn grinning as they high-fived each other and ran toward the source of the sounds. 

"Get back here!!" Cami cried out, banging on the wall; suddenly, a surge of power rose from deep inside her as her punches began to destroy the blockade. 

She stared at her hand in shock, not knowing the power she held; she looked around and found a tire iron next to a ruined vehicle and ran over, picking it up. 

She ran back to the wall and raised the weapon as energy coated the tire iron, and when she struck the stone barrier with it, it exploded, launching pebbles in every direction. 

The twins stopped as they covered their heads while being pelted with the pebbles and stared in shock as Cami casually approached, a golden aura surrounding her entire body. 

"Now then..." Camille exclaimed, "I made a promise to protect you and I intend to keep that promise!"

The twins exclaimed in unison and darted into a nearby alleyway...

***

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Serenity muttered to herself, watching as the two people who had saved her fought the monstrous being below her. She chewed on her nails, struggling to see if she should use her powers. 

'What if I kill them like I did the others...' She thought, arguing with herself, 'Could I even hurt them if they're able to survive attacks from that thing?!?' 

"HEY!!!" Samael shouted, pulling her out of her thoughts as he stared angrily at her, "Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna get down here and help?!?"

"What?!?" She exclaimed, staring at him in shock, "No!! If I try and help, I'll hurt you two!!"

"We'll be fine!!" Ichiko yelled, weaving through the wild flailing of the thug boss' arm. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Serenity muttered as she watched Samael repeatedly block the spiked baseball bat, not losing ground as he used his electromagnetism to dissipate the force of the brutal swings of the bat. 

"Fine!!!" She screamed, stomping her foot as her hair started flapping wildly through the air, a fireball forming in each of her hands. 

"Oh no, you don't!!" The thug boss shouted, noticing the pyromancer above, launching his arm toward her. 

Samael quickly stabbed both swords into the ground before reaching into his jacket, pulling out eight knives between his knuckles, coating them in plasma, and throwing them into the air. 

Electricity danced around the blades as they rotated as he corrected their aim, pointing the edges toward the arm and launching them with a blinding speed, piercing the appendage as it was forced into the ground, pinning it. 

"Go!!!!" Sam shouted, holding the arm against the ground as the plasma ate away at the durability of the knives. 

Serenity raised her hands above her head, bringing the two fireballs together as they combined, quadrupling in size before she launched it. 

The thug boss' eyes widened at the incoming inferno roaring loudly. He started to panic, smashing his spiked baseball bat against his arm and attempting to amputate it... to no avail. 

Ichiko screamed, dashing forward, blocking its path as it attempted to move, swinging its bat wildly. She focused on the blazing sphere as she deflected each of the attacks before being launched into a nearby building. 

The thug boss laughed menacingly as he lifted his arm off the knives as they disintegrated due to the plasma and retracted it, jumping out of the way. 

"You idiots!!" He bellowed, landing on the exterior of the building underneath Serenity as she collapsed to her knees, panting heavily and unable to move. 

"No!!!!" Kaitlyn shouted from the entrance of a nearby alleyway, drawing everyone's attention, as Nathan ran past her, stopping in front of the enormous sphere of fire. 

He threw his hands out, a red glyph forming in both palms as he created two fireballs. His pigtails and skirt fluttered wildly as the massive sphere collided with his hands. 

Determination filled the young boy's eyes as he gritted his teeth, straining his arm muscles, digging his heels into the asphalt, slowly halting the advance of the missed attack. 

"Nate!!!" Kaitlyn screamed, rushing behind him as she pressed her hands against his back, unleashing her healing powers as they slid backward before coming to a halt as they stopped the advancing inferno. 

Sam stepped forward to rush to their aid but stopped when Camille appeared behind them, coated in her shimmering gold aura, and placed both of her hands on their shoulders, shaking her head. 

"You two..." She muttered loud enough for only the twins to hear, "Are such big troublemakers!" 

"We..." Nate winced as he gritted through his teeth. 

"Might not be for much longer..." Kate added, exhaustion overtaking her as she expelled the last of her energy to heal her brother. 

"No." Cami proclaimed, shaking her head and pressing her hand against the humongous fireball, "I told you... I intend to keep that promise!"