"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Valerie continued to laugh as she began to use her magic to propel herself into the air with a steady stream of blue flames shooting out the soles of her feet.
Ayako had no clue what was happening right now, but the 'water magic' user knew that something wasn't right. Not only did her partner's mana now have this strange feeling to it, but the fact that she was outputting flames strong enough to turn blue wasn't exactly a positive sign either.
Before either Aaron or Ayako could figure out what was going on with the woman, Valerie decided that it was her turn to make the next big move.
"Hey, asshole, you like shooting magic out of your mouth, right? Well…watch this! Fire God's Roar!"
Aaron watched in genuine amazement as Valerie suddenly opened her mouth and formed a ball of orange mana right in the middle of it. And, not even a second later, a literal laser beam of blue flames shot out across the street and hit him square in the chest before he even had a chance to react.
The force of the impact was so strong that it once again sent him flying back further into the dirt. But unfortunately for Aaron, he didn't have enough time to prepare himself for what happened next.
In the time it took the man to blink, the force of Valerie's fist, uppercutting him square in the chin, took him by surprise. Just as his eyes caught up to what had happened, his vision was filled with the sight of the psycho-looking blonde floating in the air a few feet above him. Once again, Aaron had no time to react before Valerie delivered a punch to the top of the 'fire magic' user's head, sending him to the ground and onto all fours.
Things would only get worse from here for Aaron as the force of Valerie's leg impacted his sternum, sending him flying a few yards in the air. Because there wasn't any time for him to even try to defend himself, he could only watch as Valerie once again appeared right above him after jumping into the air.
The blonde then delivered a left jab to the man's chest that sent him flying back down to the ground.
What happened next shocked both Ayako and the people watching from the truck, who had barely managed to keep up with the assault that Valerie had just committed against Aaron.
Just before the raven-haired teen could fall to the ground, he felt the fabric of his jacket constrict around his chest. Only to look up to see Valerie holding him over the boundary line between the road and the dirt. Aaron gave the woman a befuddled look just before being thrown right back into the center of the road. The spot where he immediately began gasping for air.
Once again, Aaron didn't even get the chance to put his guard up before he felt Valerie's boot collide with his body with enough force to immediately let him know that she had broken at least two of his ribs.
Out of pure instinct, the raven-haired teen pushed out as much fire as he could muster in all directions with the hope of keeping his opponent at bay. However, none of that seemed to work. Instead of keeping away from the torrent of purple flames, Valerie ran through them at blinding speeds before grabbing Aaron by his neck and holding him up to where he was now eye-level with her.
*POW!*
"More!"
*POW!*
"More!"
*POW!*
"I want more! HAHAHAHA!" Valrie shouted in manic glee after punching Aaron in the face for the third consecutive time in a row.
The last punch was enough to break Aaron's nose. And if he didn't know any better, he would have assumed that part of his jaw was now broken as well. Whatever was going on with this woman had seemingly turned her into nothing but a raging beast. A beast who apparently had no issue beating him into a pulp.
Aaron tried to grab the woman's arm and use it as leverage to kick her away from him, but Valerie's grip on his neck was simply too strong. With nothing left to lose, the raven-haired teen tried to fire off another blast of fire via his mouth to try and stop her. However, Valerie noticed it just in time to send her fist flying into his mouth. Stopping Aaron from being able to fire off his next attack.
What followed could only be described as a barrage of punches and kicks too fast for the eye to see. Even Ayako was having trouble keeping up with what was happening. The senior agent had already stopped using her 'water magic' to attack Aaron. Now, she was simply trying to figure out what to do in this situation.
The dark-skinned woman was about to contact the Chief to see what she should do right now, but she stopped herself when she noticed Valerie rearing back her right hand and charging it up with an absolutely disgusting amount of mana radiating off of it.
"Valerie, don't kill him!" The woman shouted only moments before Valerie sent her fist directly into the middle of Aaron's chest.
For Aaron, it felt as if his very soul had evacuated his body the moment the strike landed. Immediately, his vision became blurry, and he found it exceedingly difficult to breathe. Not only that, but he was now unable to properly regulate the mana within his own body. That one punch had completely messed him up. He was no stranger to taking mana-enhanced blows every now and then, but the hit he just took from Valerie was something different.
"Wh-what…what the hell are you?" The raven-haired teen weakly sputtered out in between heavy coughs. Even trying to talk hurt like nobody's business. He was absolutely certain by now that his sternum had been shredded into pieces. And any attempt at trying to stand up would surely be bad for his health at this point.
Valerie slowly straightened herself while still maintaining the same wicked smile on her face from before. And the woman began to slowly walk toward her opponent with steps that were hot enough to melt the asphalt beneath her feet.
Her eyes glowed, not their usual fierce orange that was standard for every sorcerer, but with a deeper, molten color. Like the heart of a volcano that had just awakened.
Heat poured off her in silent waves in all directions. So much so that even Ayako could feel it from almost thirty yards away.
Ayako's heartbeat stuttered. Her instincts were telling her to put as much distance between herself and her partner as soon as possible. But at the same time, her body wouldn't move. "Valerie…?"
Valerie didn't answer.
Aaron tried his best to drag himself to safety to avoid what he knew was coming next. But there was only so much that he could do in his current state. He then raised his arms in an attempt to defend himself, but even his flames refused to come to his aid in his time of need. The mana in his body was going haywire, and he had no control over it.
"Get away from me, you damn demon!"
The air vibrated as Valerie inhaled.
The fire that burst from her body wasn't like before. Hell, it wasn't even like Aaron's. It was heavier, fiercer, like something had snapped inside her, unlocking a reservoir she'd never dare to access under normal conditions.
Aaron braced himself.
Valerie moved.
One step, faster than her previous fastest. One strike, simple and direct.
The road beneath her feet cracked from the force.
Aaron barely got his arms up before Valerie's next punch collided with him. His own meager flames guttered under the sheer density of hers. The impact launched him backward like a ragdoll, sending him tumbling across the asphalt until he finally skidded to a smoking stop.
He didn't get up.
The last thing that crossed Aaron's mind before the world went dark was his sister.
-(o)-
"Valerie… can you hear me?" Ayako approached her partner cautiously, albeit not without a hefty amount of mana-infused water swirling protectively around her body.
She had no clue what was wrong with the tall blonde, but she sure as hell wasn't about to take any chances after the straight massacre she had just witnessed.
Valerie stood with her back to the 'water magic' user, shoulders rising and falling with slow, controlled breaths. The glow in her now darkened eyes had dimmed, but not completely. And when she finally decided to answer, her voice wasn't quite her own. Still familiar, but layered with something deeper.
"Oh yeah, I feel great!" She said.
Ayako exhaled shakily, unsure whether to feel relieved or terrified. She then stole a glance over to Aaron's unconscious body. Even from here, she could tell the state that he was in. Her six years of experience as a DPA agent were telling her to keep her distance and to maintain her defenses. There was no telling what Valerie might do to her if she let her guard down, especially when she was like this.
Blue flames were still dancing around the body of the tall blonde. Not as big as the ones from before, but enough to where one would be able to feel the heat radiating off of her body.
It was truly a sight to behold, at least in Ayako's opinion. And if she wasn't so damn scared right now, she might've even found it to be a bit cool.
After a few more breaths, the flames around Valerie's body finally began to die down. And her eyes slowly shifted back to their normal color.
The moment whatever this was started to subside, the tall blonde felt a sharp jolt of pain rush throughout her entire body. Almost as if she had been struck by lightning in each one of her cells.
"What the fuck…?" The junior agent said with a grimace before suddenly grabbing her head and swaying back and forth. "Shit…what the hell is going on?"
In all honesty, the last few minutes had all been one giant blur from Valerie's perspective. One minute, she was trading blows with Aaron. The next, her body started feeling weird, and this strange sense of fogginess overcame her senses. Almost as if someone had plunged her into a sensory deprivation tank that just so happened to have a subwoofer connected to it. She had no clue what just happened, but somehow she had won the fight.
'I think I'm gonna be sick…' The tall blonde thought before the world began to tilt and sway in all directions. Sure enough, her vision started to fade, and she was certain that she was about to vomit any second.
"Valerie!" The sound of Ayako's voice rushing toward her was the last thing the junior agent registered before everything slowly faded to black.
"God dammit!" Ayako clicked her teeth before pressing the button on her earpiece and ringing the Chief on the other end. "Boss, it looks like we're going to need some backup over here! Our target is down, and it looks like he's not getting up anytime soon. McKenna's down too. I-I don't really know how to explain what just happened here!"
"I'm sending someone there right now, sit tight!" The voice of Chief Chandler replied.
The 'water magic' user let out a sigh of relief after hearing those words. Despite the sudden chaos that just unfolded before her, the mission was still a success. Aaron was down for the count and ready to be transported back to the station. That was, of course, assuming that he wasn't already dead. So all in all, they could chalk this up as a win for their side.
The woman then looked out into the carnage that was created during the battle. Half the area was still up in flames, while the other half was a mess of shattered trees and puddles of water. She was going to need to put these fires out before they left. But that was only a small price to pay for their victory tonight.
'What a mess. I hope that Cyrus is alright….' Was the last thing that the dark-skinned woman thought before hoisting her partner over her shoulder and making her way towards their now wrecked car to secure a set of handcuffs.
They had done their part. Now, all she could do was wait to hear how the others were doing.