Chapter 72
I was a bit surprised that they'd taken the time to warn me at all.
"United States Government?" I scoffed. "I know a squid when I see it."
I leaped forward using my considerable Dexterity, further boosted by my jacket, and targeted the blonde precog first. She'll be a pain in my ass the longer this fight goes on.
All five super soldiers reacted, as did the burly mutant, the energy projection guy, and the mystery Japanese guy. The Japanese guy leaped at me with a confident smirk, and his fist cocked back, but I easily sailed past him and slammed Rebellion straight into the precog's chest. She was dead before her flailing body hit the ground, and I immediately spun like a top, beating back three simultaneous attacks.
Two bone spurs were plucked out of the air, and Rebellion flashed blue as it beat back a concentrated ball of energy.
The super soldiers opened fire, but I was already on to my next target. Angel Lift brought me to the lanky girl who could duplicate, and I watched in fascination as she escaped Ophion's grasp by creating a clone to take her place. Several more versions of her popped into existence just as I landed in front of her, Osiris drawn. I spun in three great arcs, shredding the first clone in microseconds. I pulled out Ivory as I landed and rapidly fired at the freshly growing clone horde.
I spun Osiris with my second hand, creating a barrier that deflected the incoming bullet fire and the energy blasts. Wounds opened along the length of my arm, but I concentrated on the wily girl and doubled down.
She and a few of her clones had plucked knives from their satchels and were sprinting at me. I surprised her by transforming my semi-automatic pistol into a full-on Gatling gun, leveraging my Adept Tier Gun Mastery.
My fingers blurred as I scored headshot after headshot. In seven seconds, all eleven of her clones were dead, and so was she.
I stopped my Parry Shield when the Japanese guy leaped at me with his fist cocked again. I leaned out of the way of a punch entirely too slow to trigger my new Evasion skill and assessed the lanky, black-haired teen, who was grinning like a madman.
He was stronger than the last time. Had he been holding back this entire time, or was this something else?
"Thanks for the power up," he laughed as he swung again, but I was already gone. I appeared out of Angel Evade behind Bone Spur guy this time, stabbing a finger of Orochi into his carotid artery while I dropped the energy projector with a headshot. Blood fountained from Bone Spur guy's neck wound, and I spun his body around, using it to tank the retaliatory gunfire from the super soldiers and bathe some unaware soldiers in a spray of blood.
The teen sped up to me again, this time at a speed nearly comparable to my own, with a wild belly laugh and strikes that would've pressured anyone who didn't have the years of experience I did.
His face suddenly twisted after his fifth failed attack. "Stay still, you little shit."
He tried throwing a feinted low kick that he transitioned to a front one, but I simply stepped to the side, activating Demon Evade. A demonic aura briefly manifested, and even the kid knew his goose was cooked.
I packed Burst into my fist as it slammed into the soft underside of his jaw, completely eviscerating his jaw, spine, and face.
He was dead before he hit the floor, and thankfully, too, because all five super soldiers attacked a moment later.
I opened fire with Ebony and Ivory as I took slow steps back, but they charged through the hell of bullets like they were inconveniences, and when I took the time to look at their one-piece body suits, I understood why. They were the very same one Natasha and Clint were wearing.
They were made with reactive materials that hardened when hit.
They descended on me like a flight of wild harpies with their combat knives drawn, but it was never a fair fight to begin with.
Two surged forward in a string of complicated attacks. One went for the high kick, which I leaned out of the way of, and another went for a body shot that he chained into a knife swipe, followed by a brutal low kick. The first Soldier hadn't remained idle this entire time, either. He kept the pressure on brutal palm strikes, kicks, throat punches, and nerve strikes, anything to get me on the defensive, but nothing worked. Between my coat, high Dexterity, and Evasion, which hadn't been triggered once throughout this fight, I was on fire.
I went on the offensive when I more or less had a grasp of their fighting style. I would've loved to take it slow and dismantle each Soldier, but I didn't have the luxury of time, so I summoned Eryx and channeled just enough energy into the gauntlets to ignite them.
I chained a forward shuffle with a Burst, suddenly blasting forward. A hit sent the more aggressive Super Soldier stumbling. My first hit led to a second and a Burst-enhanced kick that sent the second Super Soldier spinning. He'd been coming to his buddy's rescue with a rising kick that I promptly shut down.
The aggressive Super Soldier leaped back, wheezing from the body shot, but I yanked him into range with Demon Pull and promptly split him in half with a Burst-boosted Arbiter chop.
The three other super soldiers leaped forward to fill in the space that the dead one left open while the last wounded one spun to his feet and pulled his pistol.
A grin crept on my face as the soldiers inched forward, the air pregnant with tension.
"Come on, then!" I said, clomping my metal fists together. The three soldiers catapulted forward like rubber bands, slamming into the spot where I stood seconds after each other. They were a storm of knives, fists, jabs, feints, and body checks. They were not particularly fast, but they moved with such synchronicity that they were practically the same person.
Knives swipes came from all directions, with a slight delay to them. I dodged the first four, but the fifth grazed my jacket, and I had to desummoned Eryx in one hand to catch the hand of the Soldier coming in for the sixth strike. I yanked the unfortunate asshole in close for a Demon energy-infused cross that shoved his hand to the side and had him seeing double. I switched out Eryx for a hand of Orochi and promptly jammed into his exposed neck and threw him at the other two soldiers just in time to tank shots from the Soldier hanging back.
I received a notification of his death and decided to kick things up a notch, summoning Aquila. The soldiers vaulted back on instinct, but it was too late; I swung. Three ethereal blades materialized mid-air, biting into the sides of both soldiers and sending them spilling into the ground. The cuts barely registered on their suits, but this was only the beginning.
I moved like a puppet master drunk on power. My hands blurred as I mimed a series of diagonal slashes, sending dozens of spectral shurikens flying down the hallway. Each one cut through a soldier and looped around for an audacious lick. Even the Soldier standing at the back of the hall was not exempt.
My blades picked up speeds with each wave, and by the sixth one, the soldiers were stumbling and spitting blood.
I grimaced slightly as I switched to Eryx and launched myself forward with a Burst. The first hit took off the head of a limping soldier, and I transitioned to a Burst kick that decapitated the second Soldier. The shooter, who was the least injured, tossed his gun aside and charged me with a roar.
He was surprised when his body phased through mine as I activated Angel Evade. I turned around and yanked the startled Soldier back with a Demon pull, slamming Rebellion deep into his spine, killing him instantly.
He dropped to the floor, lifeless.
The ordeal hadn't even gotten me breathing hard, which made sense.
I estimated that the super soldiers had about two to three times the average man's strength, speed, and durability. I had over five times that now and five overpowered demon and angel weapons. It was never a fair fight to begin with.
Just as I was about to speak into my comms and call Natasha and Clint, my Evasion activated, and I dodged.
The world slowed as a kick sailed above my head and slammed into the plaster wall, misting it and twisting the metal plating behind. Three quick steps put me at a few paces between myself and my attacker.
But that was when I felt Evasion activate again. I activated Demon Evade as a pair of fists came down inches from my face, and my eyes went wide with surprise when I saw my attacker.
It was the Japanese kid, fully healed, with speed mirroring mine and likely higher strength and durability.
I summoned Eryx and swung at his exposed flank, but he twisted before he made contact, tanking the blow with his side.
My blow sent him skidding back, and I saw him swipe away the mist with a proud smile.
"Guess who's back from the dead."
I made a confused face before I connected the dots. "You get stronger when somebody dies around you."
"No shit Sherlock," he laughed. "After I cave your head in, I'll have enough Juice to make Hydra finally pay."
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