Oath of the Survivor

Kyle pumped as much mana as he could into REGENERATION, hoping beyond hope that the healing would be enough.  He could tell that Carlyle was preparing for another attack, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take it.  The pain from being burned with HASTE active was intense, and the recovery hurt almost as bad.  His Auric Perception told him that the incoming attack was imminent, and he braced for impact. 

Then, as quickly as it started, the mana condensing around the charred figure dissipated as a gale wind blew past.  Kyle saw his opponent fall to the ground, head separated from his shoulders.  Excitement bloomed in his chest.  You did it!  You magnificent bastard, you pulled it off!  He turned towards where Garth and Valentine had been fighting, and time stood still. 

Valentine stood behind his friend, who had fallen to the ground.  Blood dripped off both of the Liberation leader’s weapons as the man began to approach Kyle. 

“What a mess.  I knew Boltsbury had a grudge against Carlyle, but I didn’t think he was willing to throw his life away to take him out.” 

Valentine spoke casually, more like somebody taking a leisurely walk than a man who just survived a duel to the death. 

“Just stand right there, I’ll make it quick.” 

With that, Valentine moved.  It was the same skill that he’d used before, and Kyle could feel the intense mana pouring off his body.  Kyle didn’t think.  His seemingly endless hours of training kicked in, and with HASTE active he dodged the blade coming at the back of his neck.  His baton met the dagger, and he instinctually counterattacked towards Valentine’s head.  The older man dodged, but the speed and precision of Kyle’s attack clearly surprised him.  With a snarl, Valentine re-engaged.  In terms of skill, Kyle was outmatched. 

The leader of Liberation seemed to understand that as well as Kyle did, which likely only contributed to his frustration as the Healer continued to stand his ground.  While some strikes made it through, Kyle’s baton always seemed to find a way to redirect the most dangerous attacks.  Glancing blows against his armor were turned aside, barely leaving a scratch against the shining chitin.  The pace of the attacks picked up as Valentine’s scowl grew deeper. 

“Just die already!  You’re just prolonging the inevitable.” 

Kyle couldn’t bring himself to respond.  His mind kept going back to Garth’s body, unmoving on the ground.  Too weak to make a difference. 

Kyle raised his baton to intercept the sword aimed at his throat, allowing the dagger to slip into a seam in his armor, only leaving a shallow cut against his Enhanced Carapace.  Slapping his side with his free hand and activating HEAL, Kyle felt the bleeding stem.  REGENERATION was already hard at work knitting together the worst of the cut, and moments later it was as though he’d never been hit.  He finally found his words as he met Valentine’s eyes. 

“Why are you doing this?  So many people have died, and for what?” 

Their weapons rang out as they clashed again, this time Kyle managing to block both of Valentine’s strikes. 

“Of course you don’t understand.”

Valentine sneered, parrying the baton with his dagger as he countered with a thrust. 

“You’re a spoiled, coddled brat.  You’ve never seen the rotten core of the Central Authority.  The corruption needs to be cut out at the root – if that means death so be it!” 

His voice was rising now as he unleashed a flurry of cuts.  Kyle blocked what he could with his weapon, allowing his armor to absorb the rest.  Despite everything going on, he couldn’t help but marvel at the durability of the material.  He was snapped back to the present as Valentine activated his movement skill again, disappearing from sight.  Unfortunately for the Liberation leader, his position was perfectly clear to Kyle’s Auric Perception, the mana pouring out of his body easy to detect.  Once again, Valentine’s attempted surprise attack was blocked.  His face was a mask of twisted rage, spittle sticking to his moustache as he screamed. 

“JUST DIE!  YOU COST ME EVERYTHING YOU PATHETIC MAGGOT!  YOU CAN’T HURT ME.  YOU CAN’T HIT ME.  JUST DIE!” 

His attacks came with ever-increasing ferocity, and Kyle had to admit that Valentine was right about one thing – Kyle couldn’t hit him.  While two weapons weren’t strictly better than one, the difference in experience and technique meant that there was just no way for Kyle to balance his offense and defense.  While he could protect his vitals, it took nearly all of his concentration to do so.  In the rare opportunities he had to counterattack, Valentine was able to defend.  Even if his attacks made it through, it would take a lot of strikes with his baton to put the man down. 

They had another exchange, resulting in Kyle’s left arm taking a cut just above the elbow.  Without the ability to rest a hand on it and activate HEAL, he relied on REGENERATION to slowly mend the wound.  Valentine spit as he talked, eyes bulging in anger. 

“How much longer can you keep this up?  You’re a cockroach that doesn’t realize it’s already dead.  Clark would be embarrassed to see what you’ve become.” 

The words hit Kyle harder than anything Valentine had done so far.  Heat built in his chest, and he felt a moment of terrible, perfect clarity.  Everything he’d been through these months, the pain, the struggle, all of it was to honor his grandfather’s legacy. 

“What did you say?” 

Kyle’s voice was cold, his eyes focused more than ever before on the enemy before him.  If he noticed, Valentine didn’t seem to care. 

“I said you’re a worthless little cockroach, and that Clark would be ashamed at what you’ve become.  You spat on everything he lived for.  You ruined everything he worked for.  If he could have seen how you would turn out, he never would have had children.”

Kyle thought about his grandfather’s sacrifice for him, the look of pride in his eyes when Kyle entered medical school.  He thought about the stories, the laughter, the taste of marshmallows cooked over a fire.  He remembered laying out under the night sky, watching the stars.  And this man has the nerve to say those words. 

Kyle snapped.

“How dare you.” 

His voice was quiet, but carried unmistakable malice.  There was no high-mindedness left.  This wasn’t about Liberation, or the treatment of unawakened.  It wasn’t about the Central Authority, it wasn’t even about Garth, not anymore.  No, in this moment, Kyle hated Gregory Valentine.  He had the nerve to twist Clark’s legacy, and he would pay for that.  Kyle swung viciously for his opponent’s head, and Valentine predictably blocked with his sword.  Mana gathered around the hand holding the dagger, and he plunged it towards Kyle’s stomach. 

Valentine wore a victorious smile as the strike drilled through Kyle’s armor and into his flesh.  Confusion replaced it as the dagger barely penetrated a few centimeters deep, when he knew it should have been a death blow.  Confusion which swiftly turned to horror as Kyle grabbed his arm with his left hand.  With his right, Kyle let go of the baton and grabbed Valentine’s sword arm. 

“Never speak his name again.” 

REGENERATION was already at work in his body, mending the damage from the attack.  Between his armor and Enhanced Carapace, the strike that should have blown a hole through him was stopped short of even piercing an organ. 

Tightening his grip, Kyle activated RESONANCE.  He instantly felt the resistance, much more than he’d ever encountered before.  Valentine struggled against Kyle’s grip, while also trying to maintain control of the mana in his body.  Unfortunately for him, he had never invested heavily into his Willpower attribute, whereas for Kyle it was one of his strongest.  He overpowered Valentine’s mana as he wrested control away, and the man screamed as the bones and muscles in his right arm twisted and shattered. 

The flow of mana continued up through his shoulder and into his torso, and Kyle felt the resistance spike as Valentine desperately tried to stop the mana from destroying his vitals.  As before, the defenses were dismantled as Kyle continued his grisly work.  In a last-ditch effort, Valentine lifted both his legs and kicked off of Kyle’s chest with both feet.  The move startled the Healer, who relaxed his grip, allowing Valentine to break free.  Valentine landed on his feet, coughing up blood as he did so. 

Kyle’s attack may not have killed him, but the internal damage was incredible.  Bloodshot eyes full of hate met Kyle’s. 

“This isn’t over.”

With that, Gregory Valentine pulled a small device with his good hand, dropping his dagger in the process.  Kyle recognized it as a Transportation Array – the same type that Cornelius used to save him what felt like a lifetime ago.  Before he could close the distance, Valentine was gone. 

Exhausted, Kyle walked to where Garth’s body still lay.  His eyes widened in shock when he felt that his friend was still alive, if just barely.  Without a moment’s hesitation, he rested his hand on the hole in his friend’s midsection. 

“Don’t die on me, please Garth.  Don’t die on me.” 

Kyle activated HEAL, but his mana reserves were almost empty.  Between recovering from Carlyle’s attacks and the fight with Valentine, he was running on fumes.  He activated RESONANCE to try to tap into Garth’s mana, using the skill for its intended purpose for the first time since acquiring it.  His heart sank as the connection was established.  Garth was nearly as low on mana as Kyle was, and between the two of them they didn’t have nearly enough energy to stabilize the grizzled soldier.  Despair was beginning to set in as Kyle wracked his brain to try to find something, anything to help his friend.  He’d already lost so much blood, and the injuries he’d sustained were major. 

Even pushing HEAL to its limits, a full recovery wasn’t a certainty.  What can I do?  There was simply nothing around him he could use.  Nobody was nearby he could tap with RESONANCE, and even if the drone was willing there was no way he’d risk draining C.H.A.D.D.  As he felt the atmospheric mana around him, he had a flash of inspiration.  With a deep breath, he sent out tendrils of seeking mana from every inch of his body.  If he couldn’t connect to a person, who’s to say he wouldn’t be able to connect to the atmosphere itself? 

He would have felt much more comfortable attempting something like this with C.H.A.D.D. to comment on the specifics, but there was simply no time.  There!  He felt the tendrils connect, and power like nothing he’d felt before began to flow into his body.  In just a moment he was overwhelmed, mana rushing through him like a river spilling over its banks.  Without hesitating, he pressed his hand harder on Garth’s wound and activated HEAL.  He concentrated the mana as much as he could into the skill, feeling the strain mounting in his arm and hand.  Fortunately, his experiences with HASTE made him no stranger to pain.  He could see the wounds visibly closing, but he didn’t let up.  Only once the pain became too much to bear did he release his connection on the atmospheric mana, falling in a heap beside his friend.  His body had been pushed too hard, and now all he could do was wait, recover, and hope that it had been enough to save Garth.

~~~

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