DEVIATE X / / AN UNORDINARY FANFICTION

VII.

"Don't let your guard down, Rein. There's a reason why Wellston is number one in Turf Wars."

Broven eyed me warily as he leaned closer to her in attempt to make his voice lower. "Don't underestimate her. If she's able to make the roster on her second day at Wellston, then assume she's powerful enough to take you down."

Huh. Smart guy.

"Don't worry, Broven. I won't mess around anymore." She smirked and stepped forward in my direction. I widened my stance before she lunged at me with her spidery-appendages.

Based on her strategy with Blyke, Rein works offensively with her power, with speed as her strongest factor. Although my ability's offensive, if I can work against her defensively and diminish her recovery, I can beat her.

"You don't have time to think." She said.

I flitted to the side in a blur with my speed. Momentarily dazed, she averted the spidery legs to my direction as I zig zagged away from her appendages to formulate a plan.

I had a very limited amount of options to work with here. There were no walls or vertical surfaces to work with, so I couldn't run up a wall and attack her from above. There was nothing set in motion I could work with either; I was only using my speed at the moment.

Speed....motion...

I looked in her direction, watching her irritable expression before it clicked in my head.

Wait....if I create enough velocity for running, I can gather enough momentum to strike her hard enough. I just....have to run away fast enough before she could strike me back.

I dug my feet into the ground and lunged as I zigzagged through her appendages, tangling them in the ground. I raised my glowing fist and connected with her torso as she flew backwards, skidding as she untangled the legs from the ground before gathering her bearings.

My eyes quickly landed on the mass of rocks from Gou and Blyke's previous battle. I circled around it in a blur, spinning so quick that they began to float. Taking advantage of her disorientation, I grunted as I kicked an enormous piece in her direction.

She flew backwards as it hit her and immediately coughed up blood. I stopped running and held the remainders of the floating masses of huge rocks surrounded by a red ring, aimed to quickly converge on her. Before it could strike down on her, Arlo's voice stopped me.

"Enough, Delta."

Immediately, I backed off and let the power dissipate. I felt disgruntled. Why didn't he just let me finish her?

"You've done your job diligently. I will take it from here." Arlo said as I skimmed past him, a drop of blood falling from my nose.

"Rein!" Broven ran up to her. "Are you okay? I can tag you out-"

"I'm fine." She replied and wiped the blood from her mouth, a blood-thirsty gaze shifted to my direction as my sleeve wiped my nose.

Rein once again lunged at Arlo. A yellow barrier enveloped his vicinity as her appendages bounced off the surface. The attacks wouldn't connect.

Instead she used the legs to leap as high as she could. Arlo didn't let up his barrier as she landed, pain residing in her features as her attack reflected back to her.

Arlo stepped forward.

"D-don't come any closer....!" She in an attempt to make her voice menacing, only to come out weak and nervous.

He formed a barrier around Rein, trapping her inside the vicinity. His barrier tightened around her body and the spider appendages as she attempted to break out of it, only resulting in fresh wounds. She was trapped.

"My, my my," Arlo tsked as he stepped into the barrier. "You really aren't anything out the ordinary. Aren't you supposed to be undefeatable?"

"Shut up!"

Rein reached to slap Arlo's face but pathetically swiped at the air. Suddenly, he grabbed her throat with an unnecessary force and began to choke her.

"You've won this one! That's enough! I'm tagging her out!" Broven yelled to him. "Arlo! Stop, we're done!"

But Arlo wouldn't let up. His grip only tightened along her fragile throat.

"That's it! I'm breaking her out of there!" Gou squared his stance and unthinkingly lunged towards his barrier at full speed.

"No! Gou, don't! You can't!"

Gou's attack reflected, not even making a dent.

"Arlo! Let her go!" I yelled.

He looked at me in the corner of his eye with disgust but made no move to let go.

I felt chagrin flood my body. I dug my feet in the dirt before I lunged towards him.

"No! Delta, don't!" I heard Elaine's voice fade behind me in a panic.

My hand emulated a bright red as I ran faster to pick up speed. My fist connected with the steel-like surface of Arlo's barrier a couple of times as I ran around the outside in a crimson blur, breaching various areas of the hemisphere before it finally cracked.

I felt bones in my forearm break as cuts emerged on the surface of my skin. The pain was searing, almost unbearable as blood poured out of the fresh wounds. His barrier wasn't easy to break, and the pain that came along it felt unbearable.

"Aargh...!"

Arlo shoved Rein backwards and gripped his chest in pain before angrily turning to me.

"H-how the hell did you do that...?!" He spat.

"You took it too far, Arlo. That wasn't necessary. Broven already tagged her out." I said as my  wounded arm began to glow.

"So you attack me, your King?! You would attack you own teammate...?!"

"King," I scoffed. "You may be King, but don't you forget who was strong enough to break your barrier." I replied icily.

"Tch!" With a clenched jaw, Arlo shoved past me towards Elaine.

"Well, that's embarrassing." Broven chimed in cockily. "I've never seen a team fight itself before."

With the combined glares of Seraphina and I's, he suddenly lost the air of regained confidence and gratitude. Seraphina stepped towards him and an injured Rein, her eyes boring into theirs.

"This Turf War is still ongoing. You have two options. Either forfeit or accept your loss, or continue to fight, with either me or Delta as your opponent." She said, our eyes glowing menacingly. "Which will you choose?"

But by his terrified expression, it was evident what the answer was. :;