"You're a coward," I hissed, my eyes glowing as I clenched my fists.
Some of the guards' guns clicked as they readjusted their aim at me.
Jovan smirked and raised an arm to keep his guards from firing. They all lowered their weapons and stood at attention.
"A coward, huh?" He said as he glanced at Arne, who didn't say anything, but we both could tell they agreed.
"Tell you what, you beat me, and I'll let the robot go," he suggested as he removed his shades to reveal his callous red eyes. "And I'll also agree to the alliance. That sounds fair?"
I looked at Trik's head and body, and my blood boiled with rage as I imagined what Jovan planned to do to him.
I locked gazes with him, my resolve set on getting Trik back.
"I'm going to make you regret touching him," I threatened as I released every ounce of my spirit energy.
The guards all stood shocked at my power. But they weren't the only ones surprised. Jovan became visibly more alert and assumed a fighting stance as he gauged my strength.
"I heard you all were abnormally powerful, but this is unheard of," he said.
It may just be me, but he seemed a bit nervous.
I took a step forward.
"Give me back, Trik, and we won't have to do this," I told him.
Don't become too confident, Viraa's voice warned in my head just as Jovan's resolve returned, and he accomplished a spirit-enhanced acrobatic spin kick that should've been impossible for a guy his size.
Using spirit enhancement on my arms, I managed to block it without taking damage, but the force behind his strike was enough to still knock me off balance, causing me to stumble back a few steps.
"You may be more powerful, kid, but I've been around for over two centuries. I've lived through one of human history's darkest and most chaotic eras. You don't have the experience to be a real threat to me, girl," he said menacingly as he committed to another impressive display of agility and somersaulted toward me, his leg moving in a downward sweep.
I dodged out of the way and scanned my surroundings for something I could use to even the odds until my gaze landed on a small dagger on a wall to my left.
As I lunged for them, a small throwing knife suddenly embedded into the wall before me.
I quickly looked in the direction it had come from and was suddenly rammed by a 200-pound goliath who sent me skidding across the room until I crashed into his desk. Papers, files, and sparks flew everywhere as my impact shattered the wooden desk.
The attack had nearly knocked the wind out of me, but I slowly stood back up to see Jovan now holding the daggers.
The closest weapon to me now was a specially crafted ax on a wall to my far right, but I knew I'd never make it there before getting a dagger in the back, or he'd reach me before I could make it there, so I chose the next best thing – a wooden cane lying on the floor next to me.
It must've fallen from somewhere when I was sent flying. I guess his age was starting to catch up to him.
I grabbed the cane and reinforced it with a strong coating of my spirit energy. Thankfully, I had more power than ordinary people and used some of it similarly to what I did at Damien's club. I put up a thin veil a few feet around me, but this time, I used it to extend my senses, allowing me to detect Jovan even through his quick movements as he maneuvered toward me. By the time I was done, Jovan was already before me, but I was already reacting to his presence, dodging his quick slash that would've left me with a scar similar to his.
My adrenaline was pumping, and my mind was still riled about Trik; without thinking, I swung the cane for his head and immediately regretted it. Thankfully, my attack intercepted his next attack, causing the spirit-enhanced dagger and cane to clash against each other. There was so much force behind his attack that I could feel the shock from the impact vibrate through my arms painfully, but I held out. Seeing his white teeth bare through his smug smile caused my regret to disappear.
I acknowledged that he wasn't a typical opponent. This guy had to be at least country-champion level with the amount of skill he possessed. He could take a solid hit from me, so I poured every ounce of strength into driving the cane through the blade until it connected with his face.
With an audible snap, the dagger's blade cracked and broke as the cane's curved handle smashed into Jovan's square jaw. Jovan was thrown off balance as he reeled from the hit, his cheek bleeding even through the spirit enhancement he placed on himself.
Before he could regain his balance, I used the curve of the cane to hook his ankle, and I swept one of his legs outward, lowering him enough for me to connect a solid knee to his face, breaking his nose in the process before swiftly kicking him in a more sensitive area to finish things off.
Jovan sunk to a knee, groaning and spitting blood as he clutched himself in pain. When he gathered the strength to look up, I had the end of the cane leveled at his face.
"That was for Trik. I win." I declared, notably unscathed and not tired at all. I noted that though his physical skills were outstanding, and his spirit manipulation was at a champion's level, he had no finesse when utilizing both outside of quick bursts of speed, unlike Vicki showed when we fought. He fought by using his unexpected speed to his advantage. Coupled with his strength, he tried to take me out as fast as he could before I could grow accustomed to it.
Looking around, I realized that was probably how he had accumulated all his wins over the years.
Jovan slowly stood, grunting in the process. When he looked at me, he was smiling—a genuine, though bloody, smile.
"I like you, kid," he said as a guard handed him a napkin to wipe the blood from his mouth. "The brutality you just displayed in the robot's defense – it's wasted, in my opinion, but you showed me a glimpse of who you really are. Just for a second, you chose to kill me earlier before discerning whether I could take the hit – something you Hearts have never been known to do in all these years."
"No, that was an accident," I quickly claimed. "I didn't mean to—"
"Don't worry, kid, it means you're not as pure as your family's image suggests. Seeing you have similar urges as the rest of us makes it easier to trust you. Just a little anyway," he said as he released Trik's head and body. "We'll help you. It'll help us learn more about what kind of people your family really are. Besides, we can't say no to a good fight."
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Fun fact: At age 79, in 2940, Arne was first found by a Watcher from the Russo branch. Due to Vicki's disappearance and the fact that their powers hadn't manifested completely yet, most of the Primordials weren't found by the Sadios when Vicki was still an active Watcher. During their two-year stay at the Russo's HQ, Arne met Za'Fia, Damien, Michael, and Naomi for the first time.
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