Fragments

Ch.7 - Deathmatch

The differences between each of the Reapers' mutations were on full display once they charged at their targets. The bulky 4-legged one was sluggish and heavy, which allowed the nimble horned soldier fighting against it to easily slide underneath its legs in-between the swings of its claws and riddle it with tiny bullet holes. After unloading an entire clip of special ammunition into the beast's underside, she flicked a switch on her vest and the bullets blew up like firecrackers, piercing the tough, slimy skin covering its body.
The animalistic Reaper was left in shock from the slew of noises and bright lights, which made it stumble backwards and look over its bleeding wounds. The soldier kept her sight locked on to the beast and loaded more bullets into her rifle. From the one-sided exchange it just experienced, the beast came to the realisation that its opponent was more than a measly bug. It snarled in frustration, taking a stance where its claws dug deep into the ground for a quick and deadly head-on charge. "Try to hit me…" The soldier sadistically taunted the beast as she aimed her rifle at its head.
Since conflict between humans was borderline nonexistent, the army was altered to serve as a force of "substitute Guardians" that most commonly assisted in other cities or helped guide Aegis' recruits. They weren't trained solely to deal with Reapers, unlike Guardians, but they were still a force to be reckoned with.

Reuel excitedly faced off the burnt-up humanoid in the middle of the warehouse, surrounded only by danger and chaos. Without words, without expressions, the burnt Reaper took a few steps forward, crouching down suddenly. The bones around its shoulders began glowing, jets of plasma appeared on its shoulder blades and blasted it forward in a flying kick aimed at Reuel's head.
He ducked under the kick and grabbed the Reaper by its ankle before it could fly past him, utilising the speed it had to spin it around and crash it head-first into the concrete floor with a deafening boom. The impact was strong enough to produce a tiny shockwave, but the monster's skull was only slightly cracked around the nose. It was still alive. "You're not going anywhere~." Reuel noted jokingly, intending to keep hold of its ankle and swing it around like a living baseball bat.
But, something existing solely to kill wouldn't go down so easily.
The Reaper disabled one of the jets on its shoulders and instead formed one on its chest. "Huh?" Seeing the retaliation attempt, Reuel tried to stop it but was too slow to act. It broke free of Reuel's grip by rapidly spinning thanks to the placement of its thrusters, and before he could react, Reuel was struck in the head with an extremely heavy kick boosted by inertia. He was thrown to the side, the brick wall of the warehouse painfully halting his momentum. "Damn…" While getting back up, he thought about what just happened. "I couldn't react to that… This little shit's quick–." His thoughts were cut short as the Reaper followed up, not giving Reuel any time to recover. He dodged to the side of a strong right hook at the last moment, seeing the bricks his head laid against just a moment ago were crushed to dust.
If that landed, it would've been his death.
"I can't ease up at all, can I?" Despite his peril, Reuel smiled.
Not intending to go on the defensive, the Reaper followed up again, boosting its left fist with a jet of plasma and striking Reuel in the head.
Except this time, he saw it coming, and the blow was neutralised. The attack hit Reuel's forehead but dealt no damage.
Reuel Yoahazu: 2nd ability – Pressure Redirection.
Just like Min-jun, Reuel possessed two abilities. The first one boosted the capabilities of his cells and made him a superhuman. His second power made him able to manipulate pressure.
Reuel robbed the strike to his forehead of its pressure and thus it dealt no damage. That pressure was relocated to his fist, which Reuel wound back before throwing a devastating uppercut that launched the Reaper into the air and made it break through the sheet metal roof of the warehouse. It flew out of the building like a ragdoll, unable to move from the crushing force its head withstood.
Any pressure affecting Reuel, or any pressure he generates, he has complete control over. This ability made him nigh invincible in fistfights like these, where he can rob his opponent's blows of their strength and use the pressure against them. Keeping the ability active constantly would be massively draining, so he only activates it before receiving an attack, but that means he'll get hit if he cannot react. This Reaper proved to be faster than he expected, which made even a single blow deal considerable damage. The side of Reuel's head was bleeding, and his vision was blurry. He hoped the destructive uppercut he just landed would give him some time to recover. "Don't worry…" He thought. "You're the strongest… You can't lose."