Arcana Defenders | Lore

Rick Blader (Part 2)

"Tetsu! Watch it!"
He summoned a barrier albeit not as powerful as before.

"GAAAHHHH!!!!!"

Ringo successfully protected both of them from the blast but they were blown backwards.

"Tetsu...are you alright?",

"I'm fine, Ringo, I'm fine. You should rest for a moment, I'm shielding this one",

"But--",

"I'll be okay", said the optimistic Tetsu.

Meanwhile, Michael Black made a small laugh.

"Heheh, still going? Well, how about another one?" said Michael as he charged up his blast in a second. Then, he shot it.

Tetsu summoned an Iron Core from the ground, forming a wall. Turns out he already prepared it before they were blown backwards.

The iron wall had about the same defensive capabilities as Ringo's barrier. Michael Black had a tough time breaking it. That was when he had it, the idea to use his commonly used arsenal. He imbued another source of attack around the blast that turned it red. This, in turn, caused Tetsu's iron to melt.

"What?! Fire?! I can't hold on like this!", said Tetsu. Ringo saw it and he felt that he had to do something.

'Ugh...I can't make another barrier given my remaining energy...', said Ringo in his mind.

"Ringo!!!",

'My remaining energy, I hope it's enough, at least to give us some breathing room. There's one more thing I can do here!', continued Ringo in his mind.

All of a sudden, the blast exploded and dissipated.

" What?! This can't be...!"

"GUUAAAGGHHHH!!!"

Michael Black was surprised to see his blast reflected. At the same time, Ringo and Tetsu were blown backwards by the sudden pressure.

Tetsu went up, but Ringo stayed down.

"Ringo! Are you alright?!"

"Ugh...I'm...fine...",

"What did you do just now?"

"I knew...you were going to be hit, so...I saved us some time by protecting your iron wall...with a shield. That's...the last thing I can do...for now", said a weakened Ringo Hayden.

"Stay with me, Ringo, we'll make it!", yelled Tetsu.

Meanwhile, Michael Black simply walked closer, yet not so close.

"How many times did you keep deflecting all of my powerful attacks? No matter, I don't see a chance for you to get away from this final attack", said Michael Black as he charged his final attack. It seemed to take longer than his previous attacks.

"Ugh...I ran out of energy, Tetsu?",

"I won't be able to protect us either, he seems to be infusing his attack with fire again", said Tetsu as both of them only wait for their end.

In an unexpected way just before the blast was shot, the air was cut through like the whooshing speed of light.

"What the--", the pair were surprised. At this time, Michael couldn't see it because he was charging up his energy. Soon after, Ringo smiled.

Unbeknownst to Michael, a man suddenly showed up in front of him. It turned out to be Joe Reel.

"What?!", asked a surprised Michael.

"Sorry to keep you waiting", said Joe Reel as he readied his hands. Then, he punched Michael Black on the stomach.

"GUAGH!!!"

This caused the charging blast to dissipate. Then, Joe backed off.

"HAAAAAAAAA!!!!!",

A voice faded into Michael Black's ears. It turned out to be Crook with his charged punch.

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!

"GAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!",

It felt like an explosion to Michael's body and blew him backwards. It produced a countless amount of dust because Michael was ragdolling. After that, it stopped.

Rick approached Ringo and Tetsu. Joe and Crook also regrouped.

"Ringo, Tetsu, are you alright?", asked the worried Rick.

"I'm alright, but he's critical", said Tetsu. Ringo seemed to run out of energy. All of a sudden, a burst of energy rose in front of them.

"I've never been this pressured before. I admit, your teamwork is...exceptional", said Michael Black, as the others were surprised. "However, I cannot guarantee your life once I prepare my next move",

"Oh, I've never realized someone, who's been alone all their life, underestimates unity", said Joe. It angered Michael Black that he drew his sword from his back. At this point, the bounty hunters already had a plan.

Michael charged forward with great speed. Then, Rick confronted him.

"Face me!".

Rick and Michael fought valiantly. However, Rick lost in speed. As he was about to be skewered, Rick dodged and flipped backwards. Then, with the speed of light, Joe came in.

"This is it!". BOOOKKKK!!!!

Joe punched Michael in the stomach, stunning him once again. Surprisingly, Rick Blader summoned a tornado in his way that hurled him upwards.

"AAAAGHHH!!! This...is...impossible!!!", said the troubled Michael Black.

After the tornado had dissipated, he was still in the air. Then...

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!".

Crook had charged up his punch. Then, as he jumped, he tried to punch Michael Black with the best movement he could use. Michael Black had only little time to think of something. Then...

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!

He was punched with excessive force that slammed him into the ground at high velocity. For Crook, it was enough force to distort the whole body system.

"Did we do it?", asked Rick.

It was a long wait for the dust to disappear. Impatient, Rick Blader rushed to the location.

"Rick! Watch out!", yelled Crook.

"I can't wait any longer!", said Rick as he got close. "What in the world...?".

"Rick? What's the matter?", asked Crook.

"He...he left a rock clone...we didn't get him", said Rick. The others were surprised.

"Don't be so down. At least we all survive in one piece", said Joe. "Ringo, can you get up?".

"Yeah, I can", said a weakened Ringo.

"Time to return, boys. The bounty can wait", said Joe. Then, they all returned.

__

"All I've assumed, has all been a lie. There is no such thing as perfect power. Alone, one wouldn't get anywhere. Yet, finding a friend I cannot".

.........................
.........................
........hmph......

"I see clearly now".

______________________

It was a dense situation that forced me to abandon the fight. Looking back, the power I've gathered has already passed the previous rate. For the next part, we move on to Green Barrier once again, yet at a different location.

End of Rick Blader's story.