Terra immediately bent over backwards, avoiding the blow.
Spirit sped by.
Tch.
Terra shot up into a somersault and held out a hand. The earth Spirit was charging towards twisted itself upwards into a huge vine.
That vine slammed itself down on the flying Hero, while platforms made out of dust solidified around Terra's feet. He forced himself upright and dropped into a crouch.
I need to be able to contain her, Terra thought as walls began to rise around the pitch.
He placed a hand on the platform, and it immediately zoomed towards the earthen vine. Terra narrowed his eyes at it, and Spirit's figure immediately began avoiding the hands and holes that appeared on its surface.
He held the spear out to the side, and when he got closer, he spun off the platform and swung the spear at full force at Spirit's side.
Spirit gave a tight flip over the spear, and at the same time, hands broke out of the ground to temporarily steady Terra.
The moment her feet hit the ground, Spirit ducked under a quick thrust and blurred forward with a punch. A slab of earth flew out of the ground to block her, and she darted back to avoid falling into a hole.
This is insane, she thought as she pulled off her scarf and ripped it in half.
One end of each half twisted into a hook, and the other ends twisted around Spirit's wrists.
Gripping the shafts of her hooks, she hopped over a sweeping strike of Terra's spear. Her feet shot out to hit his face, but he blocked the kick with an arm.
She twisted round and landed, and the two immediately dashed towards each other.
Spirit slammed both hooks down on the spear to stop its sideways momentum, then pulled her legs up and stomped at Terra's torso. The villain hopped into the air and went flying, sustaining little damage.
He planted his feet into the earth beneath him, then held out his spear to block another powerful kick from Spirit.
He grinned as she kicked off the spear and almost fell through a hole that had appeared, then spun his spear round and swung it at the place she appeared.
She grunted, barely managing to block the spear with a hook. The earth went smooth under her feet, and she stumbled and fell over the vine's side.
Bastard.
She growled quietly as she slammed a hook into the vine's surface, flipped herself onto it, and sped forward. Dragging the hook through the earth for purchase, she stopped at the edge and threw herself over the edge and up onto the vine's surface.
"Gah!" she exclaimed as Terra's spearhead flew towards her.
She threw her legs into a midair split, then grabbed the spear's shaft.
Their eyes met, and Terra grinned.
"Isn't this fun?" he chuckled as Spirit pulled her entire body into a kick. He ducked under it and took a large step to the side, swinging the spear down.
Spirit let go of the spear and slammed her hooks into the ground. She stood with anger boiling in her gaze and, as she dashed forward, yelled:
"Of course not!"
****
"You guys are safe now," Barrier smiled as he landed in front of the large group of civilians.
There were a few journalists present, and one cameraman nearby was still taking footage of the entire area.
I'd stop him under normal circumstances, Barrier thought. But I don't want any arguments to arise. It should be fine.
He glanced to the side to see Sumoka carrying several people and children with large plumes of thick white gas: smoke.
"These're the last of them, Barrier."
Sumoka set them down as gently as possible, then Barrier erected a large forcefield above the crowd that numbered in the thousands.
"This should cover them," Barrier said.
Sumoka nodded, then turned away from the crowd. "Time to deal with the rest."
Barrier sighed as he turned in the opposite direction. Over sixty Pawns faced him, and Sumoka faced much the same number.
Colour rippled over Barrier's body, and he slid a foot back.
"Time for a counterattack."
****
Finally got the last ones to Sumoka, Hound thought as she dashed towards the stadium's locker rooms. But I still need to make su—
She blinked as confusion cut her thoughts off. Then she immediately began processing the absurdity before her.
Right in front of her was a staircase.
A staircase in the middle of the corridor.
...Something's off.
Hound closed her eyes.
Roke—ugh!
Her eyes shot open, and she blinked several times before staring at the ground.
Huh? I'm... on the ceiling?
Hound reined in her growing confusion and took a deep breath. Then, very tentatively, she stood.
Her mid-length hair fell, and the feeling of disorientation one got when blood rushed to their head came over her.
The staircase was still there, but now it was going up into the ground... or down from it, depending on how you looked at it.
This... this can't be real.
Hound closed her eyes, ignoring the pounding in her head.
Roken: Spatial Focus.
The darkness before her closed eyes pulsed, and the strange architecture appeared before her.
...I'll minimise the range and maximise the power.
Immediately, the scope of her spatial awareness shrank to only two metres in diameter.
Almost immediately afterwards, two things happened.
First, Hound got an intensely detailed view of the space around her, from the slight scratches and scuffs on the floor beneath her boots to the small insect scuttling by.
Secondly, the barrel of a gun was being pointed right at her gut.
Right before the trigger was pulled, Hound blurred to the side, grabbed her attacker's wrist, and slammed her other hand down on the gun.
She gripped the gun's barrel hard, even as it went off, and kicked her attacker away.
That was close, she thought as she dismantled the gun with slightly shaky hands.
Wait.
Her eyes shot open, and she turned to her attacker: a short, heavily clothed person.
Is that.... a child?!
****
Where did this huge wall come from?! Liam thought as he and the others ran.
"HAHAHA~!" Superstar laughed as he leapt into the air. "Don't run off now—!"
He landed in front of the wall and faced them. "Attack me!"
Raidou gritted his teeth as he leapt forward and thrust his hands forward. They glowed orange for a moment, then flames exploded out of them, shooting him back into Rex's arms.
"Go go go!" Lee yelled as he and Obanai rushed forward.
A large hand swept the flames away, and with a grin, Superstar slammed that same hand into the ground, cratering it and breaking it apart.
"Gah!" Obanai exclaimed as he lost his balance and nearly tripped on a piece of earth that stuck out.
Lee bared his teeth as he jumped and kicked Obanai's large shoulder, throwing them apart. At the same time, Superstar's hand came crashing down with a devastating chop.
"Well, well." He grinned and turned his head in Lee's direction.
"Looks like there's a talented one right here!"