Chapter 127: Stubborn Bastard
Fah-jin reacted first.
Without hesitation, she planted her feet firmly against the vibrating floor, focused every ounce of Savage Power she possessed into the muzzle of her weapon, and pulled the trigger.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A brilliant beam of condensed energy erupted forward, splitting the clouds apart as it carved a blazing path through the night sky. The sheer intensity of the blast illuminated everything around it for a heartbeat, turning the heavens white.
SWOOOSH!
The Boss merely tilted his body. The attack rushed past his shoulder. It missed, not by luck, but by intention. His movement had been so effortless that it almost looked insulting.
Monday narrowed his eyes.
"So that's how you want to play..."
Electricity exploded around his arm as blue-white arcs danced wildly across his skin. The clouds above instantly blackened, responding to his power as thunder rolled across the heavens.
Then he raised his hand.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!
A colossal bolt of lightning descended from the sky with enough force to split a mountain apart, crashing directly toward the Boss in a pillar of blinding light.
The explosion swallowed the air itself.
But before anyone could celebrate... The lightning struck nothing.
The Boss twisted through the attack with unnatural grace, slipping between the violent currents as though he had predicted the exact path of the bolt before it had even formed.
He never slowed down.
Thirty meters.
Twenty.
Ten.
Five.
The distance vanished almost instantly.
The Boss extended one hand toward the aircraft, his fingers stretching toward the black briefcase resting inside the cabin, his expression as calm as if he were retrieving an item from a shelf.
"Mine."
* * *
Far below the aircraft... Daito Greyhell was falling.
The wind screamed violently against his body, whipping through his short-cut hair and clothes as gravity dragged him toward the burning city at terrifying speed. The ground rushed upward faster with every passing second, buildings growing larger beneath him until each rooftop became painfully distinct.
Yet despite the death waiting below... He closed his eyes.
Everything around him disappeared. The roaring wind, the explosions, the pain tearing through his battered body, even the fear.
His mind entered absolute clarity.
Every possibility unfolded before him, every angle, every distance, and every remaining option.
His thoughts raced faster than his heartbeat, calculating trajectories, timing, momentum, and the positions of every person still inside the aircraft. Every failed outcome was discarded. Every impossible solution rejected.
Until... something touched his hand, then it finally clicked.
His eyes snapped open.
"MONDAY!"
Monday instinctively glanced downward.
"What?!"
"Hit the ground beneath me!"
Monday blinked, immediately understanding what Daito was attempting.
His expression twisted.
"That won't generate enough force!"
Daito tightened his grip around the broken half of the destroyed hoverboard, still clutched in one hand, refusing to look away from the rapidly approaching ground.
"Just do it!"
For a brief second, Monday simply stared at him, then a grin slowly spread across his face.
"...You're completely insane."
Electricity exploded around his arm once again. The clouds above churned violently as another storm answered his call.
"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!"
A gigantic pillar of lightning descended from the heavens and struck the earth directly beneath Daito.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The impact obliterated the street below, concrete erupted into the air and buildings shook.
SWOOOSH!
A massive explosion of earth, fire, shattered asphalt, and compressed air burst upward like the eruption of a volcano.
The shockwave collided directly with Daito.
Instead of crushing him...it launched him skyward.
SHWOOOOO!!
His body shot upward at incredible speed, reversing his descent as though gravity itself had momentarily surrendered.
But Monday had been right.
'It wasn't enough.'
Even with the explosive force hurling him back toward the aircraft, the Boss remained closer.
For anyone else... that would've been the end. For Daito... it was merely the beginning.
His eyes narrowed.
While still hurtling upward through the smoke-filled air, he threw the broken hoverboard fragment beneath his feet.
CLACK!
For a single heartbeat, the damaged metal stabilized beneath him, its remaining systems flickering desperately before failure. It became nothing more than a temporary platform. A stepping stone suspended in the sky.
Daito landed on it perfectly.
He bent his knees, every injured muscle screamed, his fractured ribs protested, his damaged shoulder felt ready to tear apart, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
None of it mattered.
With every ounce of strength remaining inside his battered body... he kicked downward.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The hoverboard exploded beneath his foot.
Metal fragments scattered in every direction as the force multiplied the momentum already carrying him upward.
SWOOOSH!!
The world blurred.
His acceleration became terrifying, faster than a speeding bullet, faster than sound itself, even faster...than the Boss had anticipated.
The Boss's fingertips stretched toward Fah-jin, only centimeters remained.
Victory was already within his grasp.
Then—
WHAAAAAAAAAM!!
A black blur crashed into him like a missile.
The impact echoed through the sky with enough force to create a visible shockwave.
For the first time...the Boss's eyes widened.
"...Daito?!"
The collision folded his body backward as both men blasted through the aircraft's loading ramp.
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!
Steel screamed.
The rear doorway bent inward under the force of the impact as shattered metal panels tore free and flew across the cabin. Seats were ripped from their foundations, equipment exploded apart, and sparks rained from the ceiling while the entire aircraft lurched violently through the sky.
Inside the chaos, Daito wasted no time.
FWOOSH!
GRIP!
Before the Boss could recover, he wrapped both arms tightly around him from behind, locking his grip beneath the man's shoulders in a flawless grapple that immobilized his upper body.
The Boss immediately struggled.
His muscles flexed violently as he attempted to break free, but Daito tightened his hold instead, ignoring the agony exploding through his own body.
Blood dripped steadily from his mouth.
His recently dislocated shoulder burned as though it had been set on fire. His ribs screamed with every breath. Yet his arms never loosened.
Not even slightly.
A grin slowly formed across Daito's bloodstained face.
"Got you."
The Boss growled, his calm composure finally beginning to crack.
"You stubborn bastard."
Daito chuckled despite the pain.
"You talk..."
He tightened the hold even further.
"...too much."
To be continued....