This chapter serves as a breakdown of the unique combat mechanics, abilities, and underlying limitations of two central characters: Justin Kindle, the District Vice Head, and Desmond, the teleporting assassin. Their battle in the mansion isn't just about brute strength—it's a clash of carefully structured abilities, deep lore, and spiraling costs. Let's dive in.
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Justin Kindle – The Flame that Breathes
Justin's ability is a variation of the Holy Flame, a spiritual fire that doesn't just burn the physical—it affects spiritual fluctuations. His flames temper and reinforce his body: the hotter they burn, the stronger and more durable he becomes, acting as both armor and amplifier.
However, this power has a cost.
Oxygen-Dependent: Justin's flame ability is directly tied to how much oxygen his lungs and bloodstream can hold. He burns this internal oxygen as fuel to maintain and intensify the flames.
Holding His Breath: While using the flames, Justin cannot breathe. He essentially holds his breath during combat, using short bursts of flame and temporarily lowering the output to sneak in small, quick breaths. This is why he often pauses to speak—he's letting his body catch up.
Smoking Consequences: Years of smoking have significantly weakened his lungs, drastically shortening the duration of his ability and reducing his oxygen reserves. This limits how long and how hot his flames can burn before he risks suffocation or collapse.
Spiritual Fortification: When Justin braces for a powerful blow (like Desmond's dragonoid punch), he uses his remaining oxygen reserves to reinforce his body through his flame—burning it all in one go to reduce impact damage. Afterward, he's left winded and vulnerable until he can breathe again.
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Desmond – Spirit Medium of Blades
Desmond's primary power is a spirit-based teleportation ability linked to his daggers. Unlike traditional teleportation, Desmond doesn't move freely—he requires a medium: a specially prepared dagger containing a fragment of his own spirit.
Two Daggers, Two Spirits: Desmond has only two spirit-infused daggers. These are the only weapons he can teleport to because they act as temporary extensions of his soul. If one is destroyed, that part of his spirit evaporates, leaving him with only one remaining link. He can create a new one eventually, but it takes a long time to regenerate the lost spirit fragment.
Spirit Medium System: To teleport, Desmond throws the dagger, reattaches a fragment of his spirit to it, and synchronizes himself with the medium to arrive just as the blade lands or travels. Destroying the dagger mid-combat doesn't just remove a tool—it cripples his entire teleportation system.
Why Only Two?: He does have more daggers stored in subspace, but they aren't spirit-bound by default. He can attach spirit fragments to new ones, but not quickly—not mid-battle unless he enters a special state.
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Demonification – The Power and the Curse
When Desmond enters his demonified form, his power spikes dramatically:
His physical form morphs into a dragonoid creature: scaled armor, immense strength, spiritual recovery, and heightened senses.
During demonification, his spirit regenerates endlessly, allowing him to restore lost fragments and bind a new dagger to teleport again. This is how he regains the ability after one dagger is destroyed.
But there's a catch: his spirit is also being devoured at the same time. The longer he remains demonified, the more the balance between regeneration and consumption tilts in favor of decay. If he remains in that state too long, he loses his reasoning and becomes a true demon, mindless and lost forever.
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Final Thoughts
This battle between Justin and Desmond isn't a standard exchange of fists and fire. It's a tactical, high-stakes duel where each second matters. Justin races against his dwindling oxygen supply. Desmond races against the clock of his own soul's destruction.
Both are monsters in their own right. But they're monsters held together by fragile systems.
One slip. One miscalculation. And they fall apart.