John shrugged, wiping sweat from his brow, blood still trickling down his leg. "It's not like I enjoy collecting powers," he said, his voice hoarse. "But when you're in the middle of a fight like that, you use what you've got."
Ty's brow furrowed. He crossed his arms, the weight of everything hanging in the air. "But why go through all that trouble? You could've broken him down piece by piece—why go for the skull? Seems like you went through too much just for one hit."
John gave a half-smile, wincing as he adjusted his stance. "It wasn't just one hit, Ty. His body—his inward skill—it made him tough. Like a damn fortress. Breaking him down slowly would've taken forever. I saw it when we started.
The second I made him panic, he tightened up. His own body locked up with that Blood Iron Body ability. So I had to make him sweat, get him out of his rhythm."
He winced again, this ti dropping to one knee. Blood from his ankle left a small trail on the ground, soaking into the dirt. His breath ca ragged as he tried to push himself back up, but his legs were failing him.
Rosana, who had been quiet until now, rushed forward, a concerned look flashing in her eyes. "John, why didn't you say you were this hurt?" she asked, her hands already reaching into her pack. She pulled out one of the ration cubes from the care package and handed it to him. "Here, this'll give you so energy at least."
John shook his head with a weak smile but accepted the cube anyway, chewing it down in a few bites. "I'm fine. Just pushed a little too hard there at the end."
Rosana wasn't convinced. "You've been bleeding since the fight ended. 'Fine' isn't the word I'd use." She pulled out one of the dical drones, activating it with a flick of her wrist. The tiny insect-like drone buzzed to life, hovering near John's ankle, inspecting the wound.
John gave a tired laugh. "Look, I'll survive. It's not my first broken ankle. Besides, if I didn't aim for the kill, we'd still be fighting that oversized statue."
Ty nodded slowly, watching the drone administer the gel to John's wound, slowly disinfecting it. "That's true, but… you didn't exactly answer my question." He looked down at Tui Lang's body, now lifeless, the ground beneath it still soaked with blood. "Why aim for his skull? Why not wear him down first? You rushed it."
John leaned back against a tree, letting out a long breath. "Because his skull was the only thing that wasn't covered by that kinetic energy field," he explained, tapping his temple with two fingers. "His Force Dominion field worked by redirecting energy from external attacks. If I kept chipping away at him, it would've been like throwing punches into a wall.
He'd have adapted, and I'd be out of options."
Rosana, crouching beside him, narrowed her eyes. "So you took a gamble," she said, more a statent than a question. "You let him land hits on you, just so you could get in close enough?"
John nodded. "Exactly. I knew I'd take so damage from his field, but it wasn't enough to kill . And once I got close, that's when I went for the kill shot. His defenses were down just long enough for to land the final blow." He smirked again, though it was strained. "And, as you saw, it worked."
Ty considered this for a mont, his mind turning over what John had said. His eyes flicked to John's gold bracelets, still glowing faintly on his arm. There was sothing about those bracelets that unsettled him—the way they retracted back after a kill, the way one of them had absorbed Tui Lang's energy. He had felt it earlier, sothing off.
"You said those bracelets… they absorb skills?" Ty asked, a slight frown on his face.
John flexed his arm, the faint hum of energy pulsing through the gold bands. "Yeah, only outward skills though. I can use them once, then the skill disappears." He paused, wiping more blood from his leg. "It's niche. Never really used it much since I don't kill people often." Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire
Rosana snorted, packing away the now-empty drone. "Well, lucky for you, Tui Lang wasn't exactly what I'd call people." She glanced down at the fallen giant, shaking her head. "He was a beast. If you hadn't figured out his weakness, we might all be dead by now."
John grunted as he tried to push himself up again, but his legs buckled. The pain from his injuries was finally catching up to him. His vision blurred slightly as he leaned on the tree for support.
Before he could fall again, Ty stepped forward, his face softening slightly. "Alright, show-off," he muttered, crouching down and lifting John up onto his shoulders in one fluid motion. "The least I can do is carry you, since you wanted to prove a point so badly."
John let out a breathless chuckle, resting his arms over Ty's shoulders. "I didn't think I'd need help walking after all that," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Well," Ty grunted as he adjusted his grip, "if we had tead up, you'd probably still be walking on your own. But no, you wanted to show off."
John shrugged from his perch on Ty's shoulders. "I felt bad for not doing anything earlier," he said, his voice lighter despite the pain. "Figured I had to make up for it."
Rosana, who had been walking a few steps behind them, looked between Ty and John, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Hey, Ty," she teased, "think you could carry too? I'm a bit tired from all the fighting."
Ty shot her a look over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "Not a chance."
Rosana laughed, the tension in the air finally starting to ease. "Figured as much. But it was worth asking."
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