Dylo's lungs were on fire. Taking cover behind one of the mounds of snow littering the battlefield, he opened his suit's nourishment compartment to find that he was out of power pellets. Sighing to himself through heavy, painful breaths, his hands fumbled as he closed his compartment.
He turned his focus back to the battlefield.
Troy attacked from the purple skies, raining explosive spheres of fire down onto enemy troops. A small amount of them were obliterated instantly, but most of them merely shook off the devastating blasts. The good thing was that the heat from the flames warmed Dylo up a bit.
The blond's ears then registered a slightly distorted boom as he turned around to see Rift, emerging from one of her portals. The red-haired woman twirled her daggers in between her fingers as a menacing smirk creeped across her face.
She tightly gripped her daggers as Dylo looked closer at her fingers, noticing a blue ring. It must've been where her portals stemmed from. If he could find a way to get that thing off of her hand, he'd be able to defeat her with little difficulty.
"Pleased to see me?" Rift teased, swiftly throwing one of her daggers in the speedster's direction.
The surprise attack had nearly caught the boy off guard. Ducking backwards as he felt the tip of the cold blade scathe his nose, he slightly winced at he felt a small sting. His eyes registering a storm of knives heading his direction, his feet slipped on the snowy concrete as he attempted to evade them.
Luckily, he regained his footing before the barrage of blades could make contact with him. The seams on his bio-suit emitted a golden glow, illuminated the white frost around the boy as he zoomed around his opponent.
"Hell no." Dylo shot back, attempting to accelerate up to a higher velocity. The golden trail radiating off of his body began to flicker as his motion faltered. He was having a bit of trouble avoiding Rift's flying daggers due to his depleting stamina.
"I can hit a moving target." Rift taunted, chuckling as she increased the rate of her dagger attacks.
Dylo stumbled a bit before speeding up and shifting his location onto the sides of the metallic wall beside of him. The barrage of blades nearly made contact with the boy's heels as they emerged from one of Rift's portals. Fortunately, he was able to get off the wall and back onto the ground in a flash of yellow.
He found himself straining, ducking and weaving under the blades as he neared Rift's position. The cold temperatures were decreasing the speed of his molecular structure, making it harder to avoid projectiles. He felt a few stings all over his body as some of the knives sliced the exterior of his bio-suit, but he made it through them all.
"This one hits back." Dylo retorted as his vibrating fist rammed into the woman's face. She winced slightly, stumbling backwards a bit. The blond turned around, gripping the cold ground to stop himself from sliding backwards as he faced the woman with a scowl.
Rift then spawned one of her portals beside her before jumping into it. Dylo was unable to move before one of the woman's daggers ripped through the flesh of his thigh. Blood oozed from the wound as Dylo yelled in pain and discomfort.
The woman's heel then struck his chin, with him feeling his back strike the snowy concrete not a second later. He gazed up at Rift, a bit of blood stemming from his bottom lip. Tiny, red spots peppered the skin under his nose.
"Catch of the day, huh?" She chuckled to herself triumphantly, looking down at her defeated opponent with a smirk as she aimed her dagger at the boy. "I'd deem this one trophy-worthy..."
Before the rude woman could finish her sentence, a figure appeared out of thin air with a low hum, uppercutting Rift in the jaw. She staggered back, wiping the blood from her lips as her eyes settled on the dagger-wielding girl before her.
"Sorry, they don't give trophies for last place." Eliza retorted, clenching her fists as she activated her bloodstained, wrist-mounted blades. She turned to Dylo, who was still on the ground. His hands were clasped over his stab wound.
"Blur, Remnant's unconscious. You go help Guardian and Frost hold off Matthews. I'll take care of Rift." She ordered as Dylo nodded, attempting to scramble to his feet. He gave Eliza one last look of thankfulness before darting off towards Matthews with the little speed he had left.
Eliza then turned her menacing focus back to Rift as they circled each other. She'd faced the woman a few times before, therefore, she knew how to deal with her annoying portals. The key to beating her was to attack in advance. Hopefully her experience would serve her well.
"Shall we play, Cloak?" Rift sneered, twirling another one of her daggers through her clammy fingers. Her eyes bounced from her blade to Eliza's face.
"I play rough." Eliza snarled as she lunged at the woman, extending her blade. Rift's dagger clattered against it, bouncing off as Eliza swung outwards to deflect her blow.
Attempting to follow up on her block with counter, Eliza thrusted her arm forwards, intending to pierce Rift in the gut. Unfortunately, Rift spawned one of her portals, nimbly avoiding the swift attack as she disappeared.
Eliza grunted in annoyance, but she was prepared.
"Attack in advance." She thought to herself.
Rift hadn't emerged from her portal yet. Shifting her weight to her left leg, Eliza prepared to attack with her right. Kicking her right leg out swiftly, she watched as Rift emerged from her portal, retaining all of her forward momentum.
The sole of Eliza's foot struck Rift dead in the nose, a storm of blood stemming from her nostrils. She winced slightly before collapsing backwards into another one of her portals. Bits of the woman's blood fell onto Eliza's face as she smirked.
She was planning to attack again. Eliza turned around, shifting her weight her right leg as she crossed her blades, preparing to block Rift's next attack. Rift's dagger bounced off as Eliza pushed upward, thrusting her opponent backwards a few feet.
Rift angrily recoiled with a series of quick dagger strikes. Eliza nearly blocked them all, her hands vibrating from the constant clatter stemming from the ongoing collisions. Sparks flew from the blades as they clashed together with blinding speed.
She was putting up a fairly decent defense against Rift's onslaught, until the woman feigned left and stabbed right. The dagger tore through Eliza's shoulder muscle, jutting out the back of it. Blood began to slowly drip from the wound as she winced.
Thrusting her shoulder backwards, the dagger exited her flesh as she ducked forwards. Forcing Rift's arm outwards with her own, she shuffled behind her adversary before kicking at her foot. Her leg now swept out from underneath her, Rift fell to the concrete.
She attempted to move, but Eliza stepped on her chest, pinning her to the ground. "Stay down." she growled, restraining her with a pair of power-dampening cuffs she'd taken from the building's control room. She then tapped her cloaking device, rendering herself invisible once again.
Elsewhere, near the Triton, Kai and Amber were still encroaching on Matthews' position. Bianca and Troy had also joined the fight.
Some of Genesis' rescue transport had arrived from one of the other three facilities. Dylo had moved Adam and Leo's unconscious bodies into one of the comfortable vans before sprinting back onto the battlefield.
It was getting harder and harder to move. A layer of frost littered his suit as he struggled to hit speeds as low as 400 miles per hour. The throbbing wound in his leg definitely wasn't helping. It felt like a burning knife digging deeper and deeper into his flesh each time his leg struck the ground.
His eyes settled on Troy, who was fighting through a dense squad of super soldiers. But it was clear that his powers were dwindling. Each blast of flames looked like it took more and more effort to produce. His breaths grew heavier with every attack.
Dylo utilized the speed that he had left, speeding through the horde of soldiers as his fists connected their faces. But it felt futile. They were getting stronger, and more were coming. Each soldier was becoming more difficult to take down.
Every time the blond looked up at that beam of light, his confidence dwindled a bit. His shoulders slumped as Matthews levitated over their depleted team. With a wave of his hand, he sent Dylo and Troy hurdling into one of the mounds of snow.
Vibrating to counteract the cold, Dylo looked over at Troy. His flames had been extinguished. He'd crouched behind a second mound of snow, attempting to get them to light.
Troy gazed down at the flame emblem on his bio-suit's pectoral area, which was only emitting a dull, damp glow. His powers were diminishing. Shit.
Dylo looked up at Matthews, who clenched his fist lightly, presumably executing another telekinetic attack.
"Your efforts are futile! Either way, the world changes forever! Either way, I emerge victorious!" Matthews yelled, seemingly becoming more insane and evil by the second. It frightened Dylo to his core.
Stray pieces of metal all around the battlefield began to slowly rise as Dylo began to run once more, stumbling at first. Looking behind him, his motion began to falter as his eyes registered a barrage of gigantic metal projectiles heading straight for him.
"Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine, boy. I've mastered my abilities long before you." Matthews sneered, holding his arms out as his palms faced the violet, thundering skies.
"Was that before or after your skin started looking like grated Parmesan?" Dylo retorted, nimbly avoiding the projectiles as he stumbled. Noticing a large, metallic pipe encroaching on his position, he knee-slid under it at super speed, his nose nearly coming into contact with it.
Popping back up from his dodge, he gently hopped over a long, sharp metal object that surely would've severed his legs if he hadn't evaded it. He looked up at Matthews, furrowing his brow. He was never gonna be able to land a hit on the man if he was all the way up in the sky.
Fortunately for him, he didn't have to.
Catching Matthews off guard, a frosty beam of ice struck the man in the chest like a punch to the gut, knocking him down to the ground. His body struck the snow, a cloud of frosty fog enveloping the area where he'd landed.
Amber slid down by the army on her bridge of ice. The sound of ice crackling could be heard from her palms as frost emulated off of them. Extending her hands, a chilly beam of ice swiftly washed over Matthews' entire army, instantly freezing them in place.
Gritting her teeth with enough force to snap them, she flexed her finger muscles as miniature waves of snow swirled up from the icy ground. She maneuvered her hands in a spiraled pattern, and then in a straight motion. Her eyes adopted a light blue glow.
This was the peak of her power. Her true potential.
Screaming in exertion, her body trembled under the tremendous amount force required to utilize her powers at their maximum potential. Her entire anatomy was engulfed in a thick, armored layer of frost. The seams of her bio-suit emitted a white, nearly blinding glow.
Kai watched from below in astonishment as Amber's tidal wave of snow struck the army of Primus agents, smashing them into pieces. Bits of frozen blood and severed body parts littered the ground.
He would've never thought that the girl would be capable of something as devastating as this. She'd just generated an avalanche that had slaughtered thousands of super soldiers in an instant. Hopefully every following mission would be as cold as this one.
She turned her icy gaze of hatred towards Matthews, extending her hand to end him before she dropped. Her body went limp as she plummeted towards the ground, nearly colliding with rocky, snowy surface before Dylo caught her.
He looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing rate had slowed down. Her icy aura had dissipated. Using her powers to that extent had physically and mentally drained her.
He figured that it must've been a side effect of her over-exerting her powers. Either way, she needed to get somewhere safe fast. Leaving a golden streak of light in his wake, Dylo darted off towards the safety vans with Amber in his arms, intending to get her to safety.
He wasn't even able to get halfway before Matthews chucked them both back into the snow as if they were insignificant specks. Enraged, Kai saw this as their chance to attack.
His sword and shield ready, he charged forwards towards Matthews alone, seeing that Bianca had already deviated from their plan.
Seeing that Matthews was planning to finish off Amber, Bianca sprinted over to the scene as she slid in front of her fallen teammate. At that moment, Matthews used his telekinetic abilities to launch a large piece of metal towards an unconscious Amber.
Bianca clasped her wrists together and then separated them, conjuring a charged, mobile force field that hurdled towards the stray piece of steel. The orb of violet energy collided with the towering object, obliterating it in an explosion of purple particles.
She solemnly looked back at Amber as her force field remained resistant to Matthews' attacks. She may have failed everyone else, but she wasn't about to fail Amber. Not after the way that she'd treated her. An overwhelming sense of guilt swallowed her body whole.
She was supposed to be her friend, her ally. Someone whom she could count on in any circumstance. Someone who stuck by her side through thick and thin.
Instead, she'd been someone who chastised the girl repeatedly for the most minor mistakes. Something needed to change, and preventing Amber from being slaughtered by this maniac was only the first step on the long, winding road to redemption.
Meanwhile, Kai sprinted forward, encroaching on Matthews position as he prepared to launch his shield from his containment matrix. It'd worked last time, so maybe a second attempt would prove to be useful. He squinted in opposition as Matthews hurled a humongous metal pipe in his direction.
He grit his teeth as he slid under the titanium rod, slashing it in half with his Chromanium sword. He heard the two halves of the pipe clattering to the ground behind him as he got back to his feet. He hadn't slowed down a bit.
Even with his superhuman durability, one hit from those flying objects would probably knock him unconscious. If that happened, he'd surely lose.
Losing wasn't an option for The Guardian.
Matthews sent another piece of metal his way, but Kai used the super strength in his legs to propel himself over it, spinning in midair in the process. In the midst of his twist, he'd switched his shield over to his left hand, grasping it by the edge in an effort to give it more momentum.
One the way down from his movement, he violently flung his shield in the direction of the deranged doctor. The man hadn't been expecting that. The shield bounced off of Matthews' head with a clang as he stumbled backwards. The solid, holographic disc then ricocheted off the Triton's exterior and returned to its containment matrix.
"You betrayed us." Kai growled, gritting his teeth for one breath as he began sprinting towards him once more.
"And you betrayed mankind." Matthews sneered, proceeding to take a step forward towards Kai. "Humans deserved to evolve, to be better. But you won't let that happen, and for that, you will perish-"
Before Matthews could finish his sentence, a golden blur blew past him, striking his face as he staggered sideways. By the time he'd processed what was happening to him, the flash of yellow light has struck him about 5 more times.
"Dylo, here!" Kai called to his fleet-footed teammate, throwing his shield once more as it ricocheted off of the man's chest again. The shield spun vertically in midair as Dylo seemingly got the memo, jumping up and grabbing the scarlet disc as he slammed it down onto Matthews' head.
Blood spewed from the man's mouth as he struggled to regain his composure, but Dylo had already attacked again. The boy flung the shield behind him with a grunt as it struck the man's temple, now flying back in Kai's direction.
Kai leapt into the air, his hands now clasped around his shield as he prepared to deliver the killblow. But while in midair, he noticed Matthews' demeanor and facial expression change instantly. He was getting irritated, and he was done playing around.
"Enough!" Elliott shouted violently, a wave of telekinetic energy propelling both of the young heroes backwards a few feet as they both plummeted to the ground.
Kai breathed heavily, dryly coughing up a glob of blood as he dug his shield into the ground to pick himself up. Upon getting to his feet, he stared down Matthews as each breath singed his lungs. His neck barely had the strength to hold his head up.
He looked down at his bio-shield's totaled, broken containment matrix as he limped forward. If he didn't have his shield, then he'd inflict as much damage as he could onto Matthews with his sword and his fists.
A deafening silence swirled in between the two of them, until being inevitably broken.
"You're sick." Kai panted through his grit teeth as a trail of blood oozed from his mouth. He clutched the hilt of his sword with so much force that his knuckles had adopted a white appearance. The burn mark he'd received from the hilt of Ajax's sword hadn't gone away yet.
"So I've been told." Matthews eerily replied, that sinister grin of his returning to his pale facial features. "I'm impressed that you've all managed to survive this far."
"Do your worst." Kai growled, assuming a sloppy fencing stance as he intended to continue the fight. Many wars had been fought down to the last man.
This one would be no different.
"Oh, we will." Matthews sneered as he clasped his hands behind his back, a tranquil expression plastered onto his face. Kai's heart jumped when he realized that Matthews hadn't been looking at him.
The hairs on his skin stood straight up.
He was looking behind him.
Whipping around to face whatever Matthews was looking at, he turned to see a sword-wielding Ajax as fear struck his heart. The man's eyes were swollen, and his face was puffy. Kai stumbled back, flinching as he was unable to move.
"Like I said before, you're weak." Ajax whispered as he thrusted his blade into the boy's stomach. The sword tore through his flesh, feeling as if someone had left a burning rod within the pit of his gut. The seething energy ripped and clawed at his insides.
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the boy's throat as he dropped his sword, falling to his knees and then to his stomach. Ajax loomed over him triumphantly. Dylo grunted, struggling to get back to his feet as he turned away from the gruesome sight.
"Now end him, Ajax." Matthews sneered as he turned to his servant. Ajax dragged his sword along the cold, frosty ground. The snow was incinerated as soon as it came into contact with the blade.
Kai desperately looked up the man before him as blood pooled in his mouth, grazing his teeth and soaking his tongue. His vision was blurry, but he'd never forget Ajax's appearance and figure.
Director Callan's words echoed throughout his mind. "Save my son."
He needed to bring Elias back. That was the only way they'd be able to win.
"This isn't you, Elias." Kai pleaded desperately, attempting to snap the director's son out of his deranged state. "Don't do this."
The man's face suddenly became strained, his cheek muscles flexing as his lips pursed. He groaned in annoyance as if something was hurting him, as if something was fighting back. He shut his crimson eyes as his face trembled.
Matthews was becoming more irritated by the second. "Ajax! Kill him now!" He fiercely commanded.
"Would you shut up, old man?!" Ajax yelled back, his hands holding his head as if he were in pain. Matthews' control over him was definitely dwindling. Kai had to keep it up.
"You're not... Ajax, you're... Elias Callan. Matthews is the true enemy here, not...us." Kai whispered through clenched teeth, attempting to crawl away from Matthews. His healing factor was working overtime today.
"That's not true, Ajax! I made you what you are! I made you perfect!" Matthews growled as Ajax fell to his knees and dropped his sword, groaning heavily as every vein in his forehead bulged.
Out of nowhere, Eliza appeared from her invisible state, sending her wrist-blade right through Matthews' bicep. A miniature fountain of blood spewed from the wound as he groaned in pain, elbowing Eliza in the jaw.
Before the girl could hit the ground, he used his telekinesis to grab hold of her. "Insect!" He shouted, sending the girl flying into the generator of the Triton, which was beginning to complete it's activation. The ground began to rumble once more as the beam of purple light grew in thickness.
Boiling with rage, Dylo zoomed over to Matthews, attempting to inflict as much damage onto the man as he could. His fist mere inches away from the man's face, he found himself immobilized by his immense power. It was like his feet were magnetized to the ground.
He struggled to move as Matthews tranquilly walked over to him. Attempting another punch, Dylo clenched his fist and threw his arm out as fast as possible. Matthews caught the boy's fist, twisting his arm as Dylo groaned in pain.
Matthews then proceeded to kick the blond's kneecap, snapping his leg. A loud, pronounced crack was heard as his foot struck the boy's limb. The scream that followed was surely the most horrific thing that Kai had ever heard. It would surely haunt him for years to come.
Dylo collapsed into the snow once again, tears streaming down his face. He gazed up at Matthews, who was levitating once more. Damn, that's annoying.
"This is all on you, Dylo. You could end all this pain, all this bloodshed in an instant. All you have to do is run away. Leave, and I'll spare your friends' lives. Because no matter how fast you run, you can't save everyone.... not the ones that matter to you."
The speedster's knuckles went white at the mention of his deceased parents. Tears flew from his eyes, from both the physical pain and the emotional onslaught the man had just unleashed through his words.
He firmly grasped his aching, throbbing leg as he grit his teeth to suppress the immense pain rushing through him. His wounds were healing, but at a drastically slower rate due to the cold temperatures. His throat constricted as he looked over at Eliza. The force behind Matthews' attack had knocked her out.
He then looked at Kai, who was still using all the willpower he could muster to get himself off the ground. Their eyes met, and Dylo gave his friend a conflicted glance. Bianca was occupied with defending Amber. Eliza, Kai and Troy were down.
He was the only one remaining.
The blond then shakily staggered up to his feet, his fists balled at his sides. His ocean-blue eyes dug deep into the doctor's as his a small stream of insipid blood plastered himself against his freckled face. The river of blood was frozen instantly as the chilling breeze only grew more violent.
Matthews remained airborne, that sinister smirk etched into his facial features. "Are you going to fight me, boy?"
His motion faltering, the boy's lip throbbed and quivered. A shaken expression on his face, he stumbled backwards away from Matthews, proceeding to do the only thing he knew how.
He ran away.
As fast as he could. Away from all the pain and suffering. Away from all the hurt. Away from all the loss.
Kai stared at the spot Dylo had just been, his eyes lingering in blatant disbelief. His golden trail of light had dissipated in his wake. The blond was gone. He banged on the ground in frustration, a bit of snow splashing from the collision. How could he have deserted them in this dire moment?
But once he'd thought about it, he wasn't so angry anymore. Dylo's fear, combined with the mention of his parents, had probably gotten the best of him. He couldn't blame the kid. If Ajax had mentioned his father, he probably would've killed him on the spot.
But they had to figure a way out of this.
Elsewhere, out in the desert of chilling snow, Dylo skidded to a stop as he dropped to his knees. His tears had frozen onto his face, and it felt like his freckles would soon freeze and break off. Bits of snow littered his disheveled hair as his gloved fingers suffered from frostbite.
He turned around, facing the gruesome scene he'd just retreated from. His golden brow furrowed as his lungs began to sting with every breath. It was becoming harder to breathe in this blizzard, and it was only getting colder by the second. If he wanted to end this, he needed to end it now.
Maybe being reckless would benefit him this time.
Taking in a deep, painful breath, he crouched as he softly placed his hands into the snow. His fingers dug deep into the bed of frost for extra traction. Now in a kneeling position with his hands shoulder-width apart, his gaze pierced through the snow.
He couldn't see Matthews, but he could see The Triton. He closed his eyes, taking in one final deep breath as he began to get serious for once. Fiercely exhaling, he reopened his eyes, which were now glowing with golden light. His entire body began vibrating, particles of kinetic energy radiating off of it.
A devastating shockwave repelled the surrounding snow as Dylo took off, rendering the ground behind him bare and bereft. He swung his arm straight back, his lead knee coming up as fast he could could manage. His golden aura returned to his body, now accompanied by a few sparks of blinding lightning.
His wrist-mounted speedometer shattered from pure force as Dylo smashed through the sound barrier. A supersonic wave boomed across the surrounding landscape. He looked around at the external world, only to find that everything had drastically slowed down. It was like everyone was moving through molasses.
Stationary bullets littered the air. Snowflakes that should've been falling were now floating downwards, as if they'd take hours to move a few inches. Time itself had slowed to a crawl. Dylo sped up some more, because he didn't know how long this "bullet time" would last.
Back at the Triton, Matthews and Ajax had heard that loud, booming sound from a few miles away. Kai had heard it as well, and he already knew what it was. Dylo had finally broken the speed of sound, generating a sonic boom. He wondered what the boy was planning, but whatever it was, the result had to be better than this.
"What? No! No! He's trying to destroy the machine!" Matthews yelled, clearly growing nervous as he flew down in Dylo's path, intending to prevent the young speedster from reaching the Triton. He extending his hands, utilizing every inch of his telekinetic power to slow the boy down.
Dylo didn't slow down a bit. "Slow" was no longer in his vocabulary. His golden eyes focused Matthews through the storm of kinetic energy, which appeared in the form of golden electricity. Everything had gone silent, because the boy was moving so fast that his own sound waves were having trouble keeping pace.
Dylo grit his teeth as he groaned, looking down as his hand that he'd balled up into a fist. A spiral of golden lighting swirled around his wrist and forearm as he began charging it with kinetic energy. He didn't know how, but he was doing it.
He began vibrating his body at an accelerated rate, in an effort to give himself more mass and force. The vibrations gave off a comforting, low buzz that grew pitch.
"I told you, Primus will save this world!" Matthews yelled again, his hand and arm muscled flexing and straining. The man's entire body was trembling.
His eyes settled on Matthews one last time.
"And now I'll save it from you." Dylo growled, his energy-charged fist smashing upwards into Matthews' chin. A hypersonic boom clapped around them, a wave of golden, raw kinetic energy following not a second later. Matthews' body was sent hurdling by the devastating uppercut through the body of the Triton, deactivating it.
The kinetic energy wave engulfed the entire battlefield, knocking everyone onto their backs. Bianca summoned her force field, shielding herself, Amber, and a powerless Troy from the incoming wave of light. He force field faltered slightly, but it remained impenetrable.
Matthews staggered to his feet as he furiously gazed down at a kneeling, exhausted Dylo.
"You nuisance!" Matthews yelled, his body trembling as he uttered every word. Burns were all over his body. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Dylo chuckled, faintly smiling as a miniature waterfall of blood left his mouth. He'd successfully gotten under the man's skin. But he didn't reply, because he didn't need to. For once, he didn't have anything to say. His actions had spoken for him.
"Ugh! Ajax, slaughter them all now!" Matthews screamed, jabbing his finger out towards Kai and Dylo. "The sooner they perish, the sooner I can rule the world!"
Kai watched as Ajax turned to Matthews, a questioning gaze on his face. He picked up his sword, gripping it tightly. His crimson stare was unwavering as his purple aura emulated off of his body. "So you can rule the world?"
"Um.... us. I meant us. We will rule alongside each other." Matthews stuttered out, attempting to keep his true motivations hidden from his servant. His voice quivered as he spoke.
"No, you didn't." Ajax sneered, walking towards his employer as he dragged his blade through the snow.
The man couldn't hold it in anymore. "Damn it, Ajax! Kill them already! You must obey me, for I made what you are and what you always must be! I own you!" Matthews shouted, attempting to storm over to the man.
Ajax then teleported behind him. Kai's eyes widened as Elias thrusted the blade straight through the man's heart. It had entered clean, only to emerge through the other side fully covered in crimson. Tight, faint breaths of anguish crept from Matthews' throat.
"Not anymore." Elias whispered as the man fell to the snowy ground, sliding off of his energy blade. Though his face was puffy and bruised, Ajax seemingly boasted a tranquil expression, almost peaceful.
Matthews' body struck the bed of snow, which didn't take long to become fully engulfed in the man's blood. His face was bruised from Dylo's uppercut, a steady river of blood flowing out from under his cracked chin.
"The weak...will....fall." The man dryly whispered, eerily smiling as he died a few seconds later. The image would surely appear in all of their nightmares.
Ajax gave Kai one conflicted glance before teleporting away. The boy's eyes lingered on the area where Elias had disappeared from, his brain attempting to process what in the world had just happened.
After a few long seconds of silence, Dylo inevitably broke the silence. "Dude, did we win?" He asked in between heavy breaths and gasps, blood marring the area in between his upper lip and nose.
Kai looked up at the skies, which had now reverted back to their natural colors.
"I...." he panted out, his throat stinging with every word. "I don't know."