Epics of Noche 5, Reflection

EON CH 19

SIREN COMES CALLING.

1777, APRIL 06th, WEDNESDAY 10:13 pm.

Noche was an adult again and stood on an empty battlefield. Swords, spears, and other weapons were all scattered about. The corpses of numerous Cross soldiers and DeathTech soldiers littered the floor.

"NOCHE!"

She turned to the voice and her eye widened at Tak. He stood in a fighting stance and locked eyes with her.

"You've gone too far! You need to be stopped."

Noche blinked. No way, this couldn't happen. She would never fight her friends. Never... Right?

"Tak, what are you talking about?"

"You killed all these people – thousands dead! All so you could have a shot at Edward!"

"I... I wouldn't... Not unless I had to."

"That's your problem! You think the means justify the end!" Tak yelled. "There are other ways – you didn't have to kill everyone!"

"I... I—"

"No! I don't want to hear it. You've gone unchecked long enough," he said. "This madness has to end. I'm stopping you."

Tak approached and Noche took a few steps back.

"Don't do this," she said. "I don't want to fight you."

He came in with a startling burst of speed, Noche blinked and he was there. She ducked under his fist, but the punch flowed into an elbow strike that slammed down on her neck. The blonde let out a little gasp as the immortal followed up by wrapping his arm around her throat and tossing her into the ground.

Noche saw stars as she lay on the ground, however he wasn't done. Tak raised his foot to stomp her to unconsciousness. She rolled to the side and avoided the attack. As he kicked with his other foot, Noche managed to get back to her feet and block with both arms.

"Think Noche, think – he can regenerate from any wound so I can't knock him out. He's got strong augment, so I can't trap him in a box of metal or anything. A battle of attrition wouldn't work cause he has unlimited stamina and drive."

Her face paled.

"No... This scenario couldn't be designed to do that."

She swallowed and dodged his next few strikes. She couldn't go that far. Perish the thought. She wouldn't. She refused. There was no way she was going to use corruption on Tak.

As the fight went on it became clear this was what the test wanted. Tak was in such a state of mind that he couldn't be reasoned with. He intended to capture Noche and bring her to justice. Maybe he'd be willing to listen to her then, but not before she was brought to a court of law.

Not that it would matter for this hypothetical trial. It'd probably just repeat the moment he knocked her out. Still, Noche grit her teeth, for Tak was an incredible fighter. The blonde had gotten into many fights, but it surprised her to see how precise, fast, and strong Tak's attacks were. His exponential growth since she met him could only be described as insane.

Granted, she was still stronger in terms of raw strength, but in the form of technique and control, he had far exceeded her. She couldn't land a blow on him without him seeing it a mile away and having a counterattack ready. To be frank, he had her on the defensive the whole time. It was a one-sided contest.