Blood of the Guilty

Memory 39: Frenzy

Zwoomph! Zwoomph!

Kaminaro dodged all of the attacks that Izaru was throwing out. The sharp pain going down Kaminaro's spine reacted quickly every time Izaru would throw out a punch. It was as if he was instinctively dodging all of the attacks. However, Kaminaro had his limits. Although he could see the attacks and react to it, the injuries he had sustained by Izaru were getting worse and he was soon becoming fatigued. Cuts began to form at his cheek, showing how close Izaru was to landing a hit at Kaminaro's face.

All of this occurred while Medusa was by the sidelines of Izaru's back, seeing the relentless rush of punches that Izaru could throw out. Unlike Kaminaro, who was analyzing his opponent's movements, Izaru was being pressured by his time limits, and carelessly throwing out punches regardless of his stamina slowly draining. He hadn't even began to realize that the side effects of the Plague were already reaching up to his chin and chest, his skin slowly deteriorating into a corpse-like texture. It surely didn't help that as Kaminaro dodged, he had intentionally waved his hands below to further add more smoke to the Plague.

This was truly a war of attrition, to see who could last the longest. However, Izaru and Medusa's will to fight were plummeting drastically. The illusion that Kaminaro was healing himself through all of this had discouraged Izaru, his fists gradually slowing down.

Kurackkkk!

Kaminaro groaned in pain as he kept dodging to save his life. Izaru had thrown out a low blow to the stomach in order to mix up his barrage, one that caught Kaminaro off guard. Kaminaro had instinctively thrown his left arm downwards to block the attack, but even with the slowed down attack of Izaru's fist, it was as if a truck was hitting Kaminaro's arm four times.

Yet, he knew that if he had reacted to the pain too much, he'd slow down in his constant dodging, and would surely meet his end. Besides, the dead cells would temporarily repair his arm anyways.

Slam!

Izaru was knocked down by a kick that Kaminaro had desperately made. Izaru didn't want to stop fighting, yet he couldn't stand up. The Plague had already reached his legs, preventing him from moving them any further. There was just no way for him to recover at this rate.

"I....Izaru..?" mumbled Medusa.

"Mm, I think this is all I could do, Medusa," he replied, "I was reckless through and through. I guess not even the strongest defense could win."

"Why are you speaking like you're going to die? You can't be serious, can you? After all we've been through?"

"It's getting harder and harder to speak with the Plague reaching my vocal chords. At this rate, I'm gonna end up like Yosuke!

Mah, tell him I'm sorry for being so stubborn. We could've parted ways better. It hurts to say goodbye."

"You... you dumbass!" yelled Medusa.

Izaru smiled, the Plague already reaching through his face. He was already dead, nothing saving him from his departure from this world. Medusa knew she couldn't be too sentimental.. for the villain was still in front of her. She limped away from Izaru, trying her best to reach the others, using the last of her energy that she gained from him to escape.

However, Kaminaro had already seen the vulnerability of Medusa. She needed Izaru to keep supplying her with energy, or she'll die too. Kaminaro planned on killing her before she became a further nuisance. Her ability to slow down his movements with a look in the eye was just too powerful. Anything that could make him stop moving was dangerous in general.

Just as he was about to walk forward..

Bang bang!

There were bullet holes in the ground in front of Kaminaro.

"No more sudden movements," said a woman's voice.

"That Magia..." thought Kaminaro, his eyes widening, "I've seen it before!"

Sshhhhk. Sshhhhhk. Shhhhhhk.

Exodus appeared from behind a pillar, carrying an assault rifle down her strap, her revolver in her single hand, and what appeared to be a bazooka on her back. She was staring directly at Kaminaro.

"Exodus, reporting for duty," she said, kicking her revolver away from her.

"You arrived pretty late, don't you think?" smiled Kaminaro, the dead cells repairing his arm, "Your Izaru friend lies dead, his corpse rotting away."

"It's wrong to get in the way of a man's pride," said Exodus, putting down the bazooka from her back, "So I let him fight without any interruptions. It's what his stubborn ideals would've wanted.

Plus I've got all the information I've needed."

"Are you going to try to shoot me again?" smiled Kaminaro, "I'll have you know, my Plague has gotten stronger from back then. It was difficult to tell since his skin was so strong, but my Plague is so toxic, it can even destroy bullets before they hit me."

"Good, I'd like to see that in action," said Exodus as she fiddled with her rifle with her single hand, "You're not the only one who has gotten stronger."

"Pardon?"

"My Magia is Bullet Magia. I can create bullets and redirect bullets using plates. It is not Revolver Magia. I'll tell you again, it is not Revolver Magia. I chose a revolver because it was the most fitting and mobile gun I've used for my Magia.

I tell you again, it's not Revolver Magia."

"What are you implying?"

"For a while now, I've had a ricocheting feeling down my spine, as if bullets were bouncing off of it. It's pretty uncomfortable, but it's clearly telling me something.

Something has Awakened in all my years of training with a single pistol."

She pointed the rifle at Kaminaro with her arm, using her shoulder as support.

"You don't mean..."

Exodus smiled, "Let me see if I can kill you unarmed."