CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

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The room we walk into is bare stone with only a single window at the back of the room. This room is tall and spacious but has absolutely nothing in it except for a table. At that table stand three people; Karito, Amai, and one other I don't recognize. I know that they all know we're here, but they choose to ignore us. There is a box on the table with what looks like bullets in it. The bullets don't look normal, though. They have needles on the end of them, something you would find at a doctor's office. What are they? Karito sighs, and stands up from his seat, leaving Amai where he sits. I hide the smile that wants to appear on my face, keeping it serious. The other guy at the table doesn't seem to be dangerous, but I don't want to underestimate him.
          "Well, well. Congratulations! You have found me! What are you going to do now? Capture me?" Father growls, his ears pinned to his head. "Oh, was I right? Or did you not come here for me at all?" None of us say anything, but Karito grins anyway. I feel Akio's presence in my mind, asking a silent question. Now. Feizu, one of the most powerful students at Mamoru high, pops out from underground behind Amai. Feizu has an affinity that allows him to go through anything and anyone. The only problem is that any clothes that aren't his protector costume go through him as well. He also can't see, hear, or breathe when he is going through something, and gravity doesn't apply to him either. He just sinks, so he constantly has to be activating and deactivating his affinity. When he deactivates his affinity, it shoots him upwards out of whatever he is going through. Feizu shoots out of the ground, grabbing Amai as he's going. He lands on the ground and starts sprinting to the door to get him out of here. Why is Karito so calm right now? Realization hits me too late.
          "Feizu, stop!" I catch him too late; he has already stepped on the land mine. Shoot, how did I not see that before?
          
"I see; you're trying to save Amai, am I right?" My expression hardens, Akio shifting his stance. "You know, it would be so sad if Feizu just lost his affinity right here and now, wouldn't it?" My eyes widen as I realize what the bullets are. Those bullets aren't meant to kill, they're meant to take away someone's affinity! He's been using Amai's blood to make those bullets since his affinity can reverse or fast forward someone! Karito loads a specialized gun with the bullet, pointing it at Feizu's arms. Feizu can make himself go through things, but it can't apply to other objects, so if Feizu doesn't get hit Amai will. Darn it! We outnumber him, but he outsmarts us. Think, Hajime, THINK! I rack my brain for some sort of way to get everyone out of this situation without cost, but my mind stays blank. Akio's presence appears in my mind, and I look down at him, but his expression tells me that he's the same way. A slight thought pops into my head but I catch it before it can disappear, pulling it into focus. Mr. Kaze! He can teleport, I totally forgot! All we need is someone with an invisibility affinity. I think as hard as I can, but come up with no one. Meinai. I look down at Akio, and he smiles. I don't even have to say what I want him to do, because he already knows. I sense a new smell entering the room, and I know that our plan has gone into motion. Mr. Kaze has teleports himself and Meinai into the room, slowly walking towards Feizu and Amai.
          "No response? I guess you all really aren't loyal to each other after all." Karito fires the bullet, and everyone holds their breath. The bullet hits Feizu, but as soon as it does, a cloud of steam surrounds them. When the cloud disappears, they're gone. I look behind us, a feeling of relief washing over me. Thank god the plan worked. "Ah, I see you all are smarter than I thought you were. I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Karito digs his hands into the ground, and giant stone spikes zoom toward us. We all leap up into the air, dodging the spikes as they follow us around. Feizu is maneuvering around with Amai in his arms, protecting him from the spikes, while the rest of us make our way forward, bouncing between the spikes for momentum to try and get to Karito. I lead the charge, Akio right beside me, my fist erupting into blue flames. I reach Karito, pulling my fist back for a punch that would have knocked him out cold for many hours. Just as I launch my fist forward with my wolf strength, he makes a wall defending himself. This wall is harder than any wall I have ever encountered, fortified by his affinity. My fist hits the wall and I feel the bones in my fingers crack and break, but I keep pushing forward, blue flames flaring off the wall. My father, Akio, and Mr. Kaze are defending me from the spikes as best they can, but they keep getting closer and closer. I fall back off the wall and try every single way to get to him that I can think of, but nothing works. He is nearly invincible. I look at Akio, and he nods. We have to use the technique. Akio focuses his affinity, reaching out his consciousness to Karito's. He opens his eyes and roars, letting out a piercing screech in Karito's head. Karito desperately clutches his head, even though that should have had him out cold. I notice the spikes slowing down significantly, and go for one last punch at his walls. Akio can't keep this up forever. He's only been using his affinity for about a month, he doesn't have the stamina the rest of us have. I rush forward, beating my wings and channeling all my wolf strength into my fist as it bursts with blue-hot flames. I roar, fangs growing in my mouth. Claws start to form out of my nails, my ears pinned back against my head. My fist launches forward, his walls crumbling to dust at the impact. Karito screams at the piercing noise inside his head, but the spikes never fail to move. Even though they have become much weaker, they are still a threat. Akio must have run out of stamina, because Karito calms down and catches his breath, grinning.
          "That's all you've got?" I punch him in the stomach, launching him across the room. He hits the back wall, coughing up blood at the impact. Even in Karito's state, the spikes chasing us keep going. One of them hits me, but it had been dulled by Akio beforehand. It knocks the air out of my lungs, and I collapse to the floor. Karito laughs a crazy, insane laugh as he stands up. He digs his hands into the ground again, shooting ten different spikes in Feizu and Amai's direction. Akio rushes over to me and helps me up. He puts my arm over his shoulder, even though I know I could probably stand on my own. I look up and see my Father rushing towards Feizu and Amai. No, he can't do this! My father launches himself in front of them, a spike going straight through his stomach. He screams but never falls. The other spikes that were moving towards Feizu and Amai disappear, melting back into the ground. Karito laughs hysterically as I see my father dying in front of me. The impact of the dulled spike hitting me must have bruised a rib because it's becoming painful to breathe.
          "No! Father, no!" I rush toward him and kneel over his body. He isn't dead yet, no not yet. I want so badly to pull the spike out of him, but I know I can't. The spike has pierced right through his stomach; there's no saving him. Feizu sets down Amai, a look of revenge on his face. He launches at Karito, screaming in anger. Feizu goes to punch him and Karito puts up a hand to catch the punch, but Feizu Fazes his hand right through Karito's and punches him in the face. This goes on for about five minutes before Karito points the affinity remover bullet at Amai and fires. Feizu rushes to get in the way of the bullet, not being able to do anything else about it. He dives in front of the bullet's trajectory, and it hits him square in the chest. Akio rushes over and stands next to me. I hear the sound of tears dripping down to the floor from Amai, but don't dare to take my eyes off Karito.
          "Come now, Amai. Everything you see around you is your fault! You don't want any more people dying on your behalf now, do you?" Amai freezes, clutching Feizu's cape in his arms. Amai stands up, his whole body shaking, and walks towards Karito. I move to stand in front of him and growl. "So you want to do this the hard way? Fine." Once more, Karito shoots his hands into the ground and picks up Amai with a spike while also raising himself on a platform. He drops Amai on the platform with him and destroys the ceiling to go up further.
          "NO! AMAI!" I rush forward, maneuvering my way through the spikes that are once more coming for me. I keep going up and up, beating my wings as hard and fast as they will allow. I reach up for Amai, and he screams down for me. "Amai! Jump! You have to trust me, just jump!" Amai stands there for a split second, clutching the cape in his hands, and jumps. I reach out for him, and he falls into my arms. I clutch him tightly and maneuver my way through the spikes to the surface. I dodge falling debris and eventually land across the hole from Karito. Karito smiles as another platform comes up carrying numerous unconscious people. He walks over to them and completely destroys them, using their flesh to create giant limbs for himself, turning himself into a true monster. I growl low in my throat, tying Amai to my back with Feizu's blood-red cape. Amai's affinity was activated when he jumped for me just a few seconds ago. What if I use 1,000,000% of my power? Since Amai is reversing the effects before they can cause any damage, I won't get hurt. Yes, that may just work. Gold flames are coming off of Amai, but they aren't flames that burn; they are flames that reverse time. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes as I am faced with a monster standing in front of me. My eyes shoot open, and I am covered head to toe in violet flames. My flames are no longer blue, but violet. Violet flames, the hottest flame known to mankind, burning at about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I activate all of my wolf powers to full strength, fangs and claws forming. Not only is fire coating me, but lightning is crackling along the edges of my flames. The ground around me is charred and cracked at the power radiating off of me. Karito throws himself at me, the hundreds of pounds of flesh connected to him slowing him down, but not by much. I move out of the way, but I am faster than I have ever been before. I'm faster than Mr. Kaze has ever been, even in his prime. Some of the feathers on my wings have turned purple, along with the white streaks in my jet-black hair. I roar, the sound reverberating across the street as I land, the impact leaving a massive dent in the ground. I shoot towards Karito, and before he even knows what's happening I kick him from underneath, launching him high into the air. I fly up after him, leaving a trail of violet fire and lightning behind me as I fly almost as fast as the speed of light. I hover above Karito, lifting my fist to punch him in the face, the fangs in my mouth and the claws on my nails have grown to full length. I must look terrifying because the look on Karito's face is filled with horror. Good. I better look like the devil to him, because I am the one who is going to end him. I punch him, landing a perfect hit into his stomach. The impact knocks off one of his flesh-made arms, I rotate in mid-air and kick him down to the ground. Filled with the heat of vengeance, I kick and punch him over and over again until we are about thirty feet from the ground. One last kick and he is launched down to the ground. I look down to where Akio is and see him standing there with Mr. Kaze, Feizu, and Meinai, all of them awe-struck at my full power. I land, my wings spread at their full length, growling low in my throat. My ears are pinned flat to my head, my eyes wide. I'm breathing heavily, exhaustion starting to set in. Amai is amazed at what he was just a part of, his affinity deactivating. I deactivate mine, and before I can even take a step, my legs give out from underneath me. I hear Akio rushing toward me, but I also hear another set of footsteps coming up from behind me. I look back and see one last villain holding a sword of lightning in his hand.

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