Fresh New Antivirus

Ch. 32 - We will PERSEVERE

Fresh froze. And unfortunately, he wasn't the only one. After getting into a pattern with the bot it had completely made him forget the most important thing about what they were dealing with.

Player unpredictability.

The red slash seemed to move in slow motion as Spiffy raised their arms to block, not having the peace of mind to think of dodging. Their eyes widened in fear.

The stillness of the moment was broken by a desperate cry and an outreached hand.

"Spiffy MOVE!! " Snasy shouted.

It happened in an instant. The crunchy sound of an attack making a connection with something. Something that wasn't Spiffy ... nor was it Snasy.

In front of Spiffy was a purple shield, code scrolling from the edges. It was the same shade of the purple mist that seemed to come from Snasy's outstretched hand and eyes. It emanated magic and the strong feeling of the trait of Perseverance.

Fresh could hardly believe what he was seeing. But he couldn't think much on it for the time being. His attention was wholly on the threat still before them. His fist's clenched in his pockets.

The same moment the impact struck the barrier Snasy had thrown themself in front of Spiffy and hugged them tightly for yet another layer of protection, eyes squeezed shut in preparation of being struck. They didn't seem to realize fully what they did and after a few tense moments of not feeling the hit, they turned to see the shield disintegrating into pixelated code.

"Was ... that the Nokia ability?" Snasy asked, stunned.

They seemed to be gripping the place in front of their soul tightly, their other arm still around Spiffy's shoulder for support - for which of the two it was no longer clear.

"... I don't think that was the Nokia." Spiffy said, looking at the other's hand incredulously as the mist faded.

Snasy was also baffled at the dissipating glow.

Everyone was alive, whole and well. Fresh should be relieved.

But that was overshadowed by another feeling. One that burned and made his magic boil.

Fresh gaze was on the Hacker, and he was not smiling. It was his turn now.

He felt a rage bubble up from deep in his soul. At the Hacker ... and at himself for his risky nature having put his friends in danger and freezing when he was needed.

His shades were out as he flung the Hackers' borrowed soul against the walls of the battle area. Over and over and over. Hand throwing them without laying a finger on them. Tacking point after point of damage off their soul, going down into decimals. He didn't want them to die - he wanted them to suffer.

"Fresh that's enough!" A voice called, and a hand gripped his sleeve, stopping him from flinging his arm around to further beat the soul. It was Spiffy. They seemed shaky, but okay. "... that's enough." They repeated quieter.

Fresh lowered his hand and nodded.

He felt ashamed.

A notification popped up.

<Host SOUL of Hacker Avatar weakened. Redirect connection to Hacker SOUL directly to gain deeper access and permissions?>

<Y/N>

Fresh selected 'Yes.'

Stepping forward into the box, he touched the weakened soul with a surprising gentleness compared to his just ended onslaught. From the point of contact cracks appeared and chipped off reviewing the coded cyan soul hidden within.