DIFFERENT FONT STYLES USED:
"STORYLINE" "'SPECIAL SKILLS OR MOVES'" "SPEAKER" "SPEECH" "THOUGHT"
(flashback; to about a few years prior)
Out in the woods, a much younger Neil in a white t-shirt and blue-grey jeans trains by himself. Neil stands in front of a large boulder, already riddled with a quarter-dozen smoking holes; about 15FT apart. Neil clenches his left fist tightly, channeling minergy into his fist to increase power and force and into his feet for speed, before launching himself at it. He lets out a battle cry as he slams his fist into the only undamaged spot on the rock, devastating the top half of the rock in one blow; bits of rock flying in every direction. He drops to his feet, blows away the steam from his fist.
Laz: (whistles) You'd think you had a grudge against that boulder or something.
Neil: (turns around to face Laz – in a white open neck shirt, left wide open, a black t-shirt and green jeans – leaning against a tree, cross-armed with one foot against the bark) I don't remember asking for a spectator.
Laz: (feigns hurt) Ouch. Is that how you treat a friend who came to help out?
Neil: Help out how? You've just been standing there for the past two hours.
Laz: (gives a casual shrug) Hey. You looked like you were doing fine on your own.
Neil: (begins walking away) You just wanted an excuse to not go home.
Laz: (jokingly) You can't prove that? (follows after him) Anyway, I'm famished. Wanna head over to 24/7 Breakfast for a bite. (the two continue their way out of the woods) So is that all you've doing this past few days? Just punching rocks?
Neil: Kyle said to spend my time practicing my physical attacks rather than worrying about skill I barely understand at the moment.
Laz: (crosses his arms behind his head) Okay, but…is that your fighting style? Just recklessly punching through everything?
Neil: …
Laz: I mean it works for Kyle, but your not him. And I'm pretty sure he know that too. Why not fight your own way.
Neil: I don't have my own way.
Laz: Don't overthink it. You'll know it when it happens. Besides, brute force won't help you with every challenge. What will you do if meet an opponent who's attacks you can't just body your way through?
Neil: (thinks deeply…) I… (...but can't come up with anything)
Laz: Let me answer it for you. If you can't tank their attacks, then turn their own power against them; at least that's what I'd do, but you do you, mate. (the two make it to the park directly connected on the side to the entrance to the forest)
Man: Help! Help!! (the two turn to see a short, pudgy, elderly man running out the way they came from) Please, someone help me!
Neil: (the man drops to his knees in front of a group of people) …
Lazarus: (leans down to the man) Hey, you okay? What's wrong?
Man: Someone please. My brother, my brother's in danger.
Civilian #1: In danger? What happened?
Man: We were walking in the forest when a monster suddenly jumped us out of nowhere.
Civilian #2: (suddenly scared) A m-monster?
Man: Some kind of red lion with horns. (the crowd suddenly gasps, fear washing over them)
Neil: (recognizing the description) That sounds like a horned lion. (to Laz) From what I've heard, they're extremely dangerous monsters that even high-leveled middle-tiers can only just barely handle as a group.
Man: It showed up out of nowhere and attacked us, my brother tried protect me but he got hurt and it scooped him up and took off with him. Please, help me. (the people all get cold feet, not wanting to get involved)
Civilian #3: I-I don't know, that sounds dangerous.
Civilian #4: I hear those things really deadly. We could get hurt.
Civilian #5: Maybe we should call the Monster Management Core? Or perhaps the fire department?
Laz: (seeing that nobody wants to help, gets disgusted) Geez, what utter cowardice. (speaks up so everyone can hear him) If you don't want to help, then say outright, don't beat around the bush. (puts a hand to the man's shoulder) Relax. You need help, right? Then I'll help. (this statement leaves everyone, even the man shocked)
Civilian #6: What? This little kid?
Civilian #7: Does this kid monsters are a joke or something?
Laz: (unfazed) What's wrong? Not everyone's a spineless coward. if the adults won't do anything, then the kids will. (to Neil) So, ready to go?
Neil: (genuinely surprised) Ah, me too?
Laz: (nods like it's the most normal thing) Well yeah? I mean this guy needs help, so we help him.
Civilian #8: (yells at Laz) Hey, kid! Do you think this is a joke?! A monster like that will rip you to shreds. Are you trying to get yourself killed?
Laz: (ignores them, still facing the old man) So, where in the forest may I ask?
Man: (dumbfounded) What?!
Laz: (speaking as casually as if he is asking for the time) You said you needed help. So please, tell me, where in the woods were you and your brother attacked. (the man just stares up at him, not believing that this kid is actually serious about rescuing his brother from a vicious monster)
Neil: Just talk, pal. He's not fooling around. Don't let his age fool you, he's much stronger than he looks.
Man: (dubious but decides to relent) Somewhere in the middle of the forest, near a small waterfall; north from the entrance.
Civilian #9: Hey old man, are really listening to these kids? You're just sending them on a suicide mission. You want their blood on your-- (is caught off by his own voice suddenly going mute; grabs his throat trying to get his voice back)
Laz: Middle of the forest, near a small waterfall, just north of the entrance, right? Got it. (turns back towards the entrance heads in, but not before turning back to the man and the crowd with a wave and assuring smile, the kind that made you think everything would be okay even though your house is practically an oversized bonfire…) Be back in a 'snap'. (…snaps his fingers, the civilian in the crowd from earlier regaining his voice; Neil following behind Laz; the two walk awhile into the woods, Neil turning his from side-to-side every few minutes to memorize the way back)
Neil: I don't get it though.
Laz: Get what?
Neil: There shouldn't be any horned lions in this part of the country, much less in the woods close to civilization, I don't understand how one could get here.
Laz: Could it have migrated and ended straying far?
Neil: Horned lions don't migrate. (puts a hand to his chin, the elbow resting on his other hand) But you are on to something. It might have wondered off here from its natural habitat.
Laz: Well, whatever the reason, it's a threat here. So we'll have to take care of it.
Neil: And by we, you mean you?
Laz: Oh come on Neil, you're plenty strong to take down a lion-beast.
Neil: "Horned lion". And I'm not. I stand no chance; not like you.
Laz: Yet you tagged along anyway.
Neil: … (stays silent, knowing he can't argue with logic)
Laz: I think you're giving me too much credit, anyway. You're plenty strong yourself. (the two walk for a while longer before finally making it to the waterfall) That looks like it.
Neil: (looks around) So…
Laz: (looks around as well and spots some tracks) Hey look… (points and runs up to the tracks) …lion tracks.
Neil: (runs up to see them) Definitely lion pawprints. No doubt of the horned lion. Let's follow them. (Laz nods and the two race down the path they lead, after a while they breach the end of the road) Looks like the trail ends here. (looks up) Odd, did it jump away? Perhaps into the trees? Horned lions aren't known for their agility but they're certainly no klutzes, still, it'd be too heavy to stay on a branch; especially with baggage. (meanwhile…)
Laz: (...sniffs the air, closes his eyes as if to focus, nods in understanding and points to a ledge above them) It's in a cave up there.
Neil: (turns to him) …
Both leap unto the ledge and indeed find a cave atop it and head in to look for the monster. Walking in through the mouth of the cave, the boys' expressions suddenly turn from curious-neutral to total shock. On the ground, scattered around them, are the bones and remains of various animals, other monsters and even…people.
Laz: Seems like the lion's been here a while, and it's been…busy.
Neil: (speaking in his ever-present apathetic tone) Lions sure do stand at the top of the food chain, huh? (to face Laz) Think there's a chance the guy's brother's still alive? (before Laz could answer, both boys hear whimpering coming slightly deeper in the cave)
Laz: I guess we'll find out. (they head in deeper to the source of the sound and find it's coming from behind a large rock, where a lean, medium-tall, elderly man hides, curled up in a ball as he trembles violently, afraid for his life; he pops his head from the other side of the rock) Yo! (the man screams and promptly faints; foam coming from his mouth) What is something I said?
Neil: (walks around the rock and Laz to see the scene) He'll be fine. I'm guessing this must be the man's brother. (looks around the cave to find nothing…) Guess the lion was saving him for dinner. Come on, let's grab the guy and beat it before-- (…until his eyes land on something that totally shocks him; a bead of sweat dropping down the side of his face) Son of a--
Laz: What's wrong? (Neil points to the source of his shock; turns to where his pointing and also expresses total shock) Like hell.
In front of the boys, about several yards away, lays the monster the came here to deal with – a large red-coated lion with a silver mane that stretches down its back and down its upper forelegs, a sliver tuft at the end of its long tail, three black vertical lines downthe sides of its underbelly, light gray claws, two jet-black horns that protrude from the sides of the forehead and curve forward and a pair of saber-teeth protruding from its upper jaw – or rather, what remains of it. What is left in front of them is the mangled corpse of the supposedly dangerous monster, laying on its side in a pool of green blood, stomach ripped out and ripped to shreds, limbs in four different directions, about three to four yards away and its head lying in its own green pool about five yards away; one horn missing.
Laz: So much for top of the food chain; guess the king of the jungle got his crown usurped.
Neil: Horned lions are ferocious predators, even in the monster world. Only a handful of tier-bishop metas alone can just barely defeat one, and in a whole team not without some casualties. This…this wasn't just being beaten by a superior opponent, it was a one-sided slaughter. (Laz steps closer to the corpse, noticing something with the darkness of the cave's further depths) What could have done--?
Laz: (grabs Neil and slings him over his shoulder before grabbing the man's brother and rushing out of the cave…) Time to go! (…just in timeevade what looks like a giant black centipede with glowing red eyes as it charges out of the cave)
Neil: (stupefied at the sight of the creature, though of course, like always, his face doesn't show it) A black centipede?!
Laz: (leaps of the ledge and hides as the creature crawls past and drops the other two males) Yeah. I guess we found out what happened to our feline friend.
Neil: It's even worse than I thought. I can't believe there's a black centipede here; what is even doing here? They're not even native to this country.
Laz: Who knows, but we've got a big problem. That thing's heading to town so it'll be a major issue soon, and…
Neil: (looks at him puzzled) And…?
Laz: There's a second one.
Neil: (flabbergasted) What?!
Laz: I'm guessing that cave must be a nesting ground for them. They were probably in hibernation at the back of the cave so the lion was able to make its home for a while without realizing it had some "not so friendly" roommates and found out too late in the worst way.
Neil: Just great. Now what?
Laz: I'll take care of the runaway creepy-crawly; you take care of the one still inside.
Neil: (taken aback) Me?
Laz: I can't fight both by myself and… (points to the still unconscious elderly man) …he's definitely no help.
Neil: But--
Laz: Welp, gotta go! (leaps away after the centipede)
Neil: … Goddammit Laz. (leaps back up the ledge and heads back into the cave)
Neil cautiously walks back in through the entrance, looking around for the monster, when the second centipede suddenly lunges from the side. Neil leaps out of the way in time to dodge it, the creature turns to face him and lunges at him again, only for him to leap up into the air and deliver a punch to creature's head. The attack doesn't do anything but piss the monster off, causing it screech in anger and secrete a green liquid at Neil, who leaps away in shock. The liquid hits some rocks and bones where escapes from; dissolving them like it's not even a chore.
Neil: …! Acid?(leaps out of the way of another lunge)Right, black centipede's can secrete powerful acids that even metas with high defense can't resist.(leaps off a wall and lands of the creature's back, running up its body)From what I know about this particular type of monster, its body's covered a nigh-impenetrable exoskeletal armor, it's over 30FT long, has powerful mandibles capable of not only crushing by dissecting metahuman bodies, not to mention it's acid attack. A threat for even an army of tier-queen fighters, definitely more than I can handle; non wonder it could take out a horned lion like that. How do I beat it?
Neil leaps for its for its head and delivers a kick that sends tumbling to the side, it gets back up and rushes towards him. Neil furrows his eyes, he dashes straight for the creature, leaping into the air, he swings a kick at the air in front of him, sending a large blade of wind that hits the centipede, sending it flying back into the wall of the cave. The creature gets back up after a bit, shakes off the concussion and growls at Neil.
Neil: … That was one of my strongest attacks so far and it only stunned it for a minute. Goddammit; my usual fighting style won't work on it.(it lunges for him again and he can't react fast enough, getting slashed across his waist; screams in pain and drops to the ground) Gah! Goddammit it all. (groans as he struggles to get back up, looking at his injury)Poison. Not good.(notices it turning around to strike again, leaps out of the way unto a tall boulder)Crap. How do I beat this know? My usual moves won't work; they're not even perfected yet.(his mind suddenly flashes back to his earlier conversation with Laz)
Laz: Just recklessly punching through everything? I mean it works for Kyle, but you're not him. Why not find your own style?
Neil: My own style? Like what?(takes a deep breath and looks around cave, taking its layout)This place is pretty large and now that I think about it, has a lot of blind spots I can exploit. Maybe…
Laz: Don't overthink it. You'll know it when it happens.
Neil: Okay then.
Not knowing what is going to do, or even what he's doing now, Neil leaps off the rock and begins bouncing off the walls the cave; ricocheting like a Ping-Pong ball. The monster looks back and forth, left and right, trying to follow his movements, not understanding what his doing. Neil suddenly delivers a kick to side of its head without warning, catching it off-guard; not skipping a beat, he leaps back towards it and delivers a strong punch to it left mandible, dislodging it. The centipede roars in pure rage and tries charge at him, but he expects this, purposely standing in front of a hard wall so that it slams face-first when he leaps away; losing the mandible completely.
Neil: (chuckles)This might not be so hard. Ugh!(gets sent flying by the massive myriapod's tail, hitting a small boulder back-first)Ow. So much for not so hard.(the centipede roars again, waving its head around as acid spills from the hole where its mandible use to be)Looks like it's gone crazy, I've got to end this. But my regular punches have little effect.(looks around and spots a bone with a pointy and sharp-looking end)Hmmm. Maybe.
Neil dashes to the bone, while the monster's still in a frenzy and snatches it before rushing up to the creature and leaps in to the air, bouncing of a stalactite towards the monster, raising the bone over his head, he brings it down hard, managing to stab through the creature's armor. It roars in more pain and tries to shake him off, Neil struggles to hang on but is once again sent flying. Neil gets back up, propping himself up with his hand against the wall, other one on his wound from earlier.
Neil: (tries to looks at the centipede but his vision begins to go blurry)… No. the poison's starting to speed up, I need to end this quickly; but how?(mind flashes to another memory)
Laz: Okay. But brute force won't get you with every challenge. What will you do if meet an opponent who's attacks you can't just body your way through? If you can't tank their attacks, then turn their own power against them.
Neil: Use their power against them, huh?(looks up at the ceiling of the cave which is filled to the brim with stalactites)Here goes nothing.
He leaps back unto the monster, sprinting up its segmented body to the bone still lodged in its flesh, ripping it out on his way past and stabbing the creature's neck – or at least what substituted for one – causing it to screech, facing up and shooting acid all over the stalactites. He pulls out the bone and slides back down, dragging the bone along its back to deal more damage before getting catapulted off the tail towards the ceiling where the bases of the stalactites' connection to the stone are already melting off; making them likely to fall soon.
Neil: Now! 'PROJECTILE SLASH'.
He slashes the sword through the air, releasing a flying slash that cleaves all the stalactites free; causing them to fall unto the centipede. Neil stabs the bone into a wall to stop his descent, the centipede roars and screeches in pain as it gets pelted with spiky-tipped, falling rock which pierce it through; effectively killing it. Once the dust settles, Neil lets go and drop back down to earth, marveling at his own handiwork.
Neil: (panting)Hah. I actually did it. I defeated a black centipede all by myself.(wheezes as he falls back on the ground, his consciousness fading)J-Just…in…time.(loses consciousness; wakes up again to see Laz watching over him)
Laz: Yoh, sleeping beauty. You awake yet?
Neil: Laz? Where are we?
Laz: Where'd you think? The park.
Neil: (sits up to find himself lying on a park bench and looks around to see that they're indeed in the park) How long have I being out?
Laz: Not too long. Just about several days.
Neil: (stunned) What?!
Laz: (giggles) Kidding, kidding. You've only out about an hour. I went to check up on you after I finished with my own opponent, saw what's left of the bug; good job. (points to the old man and his brother embracing in joyful tears, happy to reunite) Carried you and the old man's brother out, mate was super relived and grateful.
Neil: (looks at them…) Hmmm. (…then back to Laz) So I take it you also defeated your centipede.
Laz: Yup. Made short work of it. The guys from the Monster Management Core should be taking care of the rest right now. (the scene briefly cuts to some men in suits investigating Laz's battle scene, which is really just a heavily destroyed portion of the woods with the horribly lacerated and heavily mangled body of a black centipede scattered all over the center in a giant sea of green blood) Oh yeah, I already healed your wounds and neutralized the poison.
Neil: (looks down at the already healed scar where his wound used to be) Thanks.
Laz: No probs. And again, good job beating that thing on your own, knew you could do it. (lightly punches Neil's shoulder)
Neil: Yeah but, I only won thanks to your advice. You've got a good head on your shoulders…
(flashback ends)
Neil: …Laz. (thinks over the memory)Use my own style, turn their strength against them, huh? Alright.(listens to the villain struggle to find his way apart)When temporarily blinded by light, the average meta's eyesight returns after 15 secs, 15 mins if the light is stronger. Given how night vision goggles work, for you, it'll take much, much longer. (he leaps off from his post and ricochets from one point to another, before lunging past him, slashing his arm on his way; Owlperch screams in pain and shock, not expecting the attack)
Owlperch: (pissed) …! You brat! You think you can beat me, just by blinding me?! I don't need my eyes to beat you!
Neil: (from the darkness) Anyone can talk big, but can you actually back it up?
Owlperch: (growls) Why you…?
Owlperch blindly – get it? – sends out a storm of feathers, the projectiles flying every direction. Neil senses this attack and manages to dodge all of them, once the attack stops, the blind owl waits for a while, thinking he must have taken Neil down. Some of the villain's feathers fly back at him, stabbing into his back and side.
Owlperch: (screams loudly, filled with shock and disbelief) He caught my feathers and threw them back at me? How can he even see me? There's no way his eyes could actually have recovered just yet. It hasn't even been 15 mins yet.
Neil: Mindlessly launching feathers when you can't even see you own hand in front of your face will only cost you precious ammunition.
Owlperch: (yells in anger) You bastard!
Neil: (dropping behind him, using a grappling line to hang midair upside-down like certain neighborhood webslinger) Well, aren't you irritable. (the owl moves quickly to strike but just swings at the air) Too slow.
Owlperch: (growls)I may be blind, but my owlets aren't. (grabs a few cuboid gadgets from his belt and throws them into the air…) Owlets activate! (…and the cuboids transform into mechanical owls which fly off to kill Neil)
Neil: Robot owls, huh? Big mistake. (focuses his skill, sending his power towards the robots; the owl waits for a while to hear Neil's death, only for a beam of red-hot laser to graze his right arm, sending out a scream from him)
Owlperch: What?!
Neil: You should know, tech and me are a bad mix for my enemies.
The owlets begin firing lasers at Owlperch who struggles to dodge, failing miserably without his vision, his body gets riddled with burning holes. Owlperch's strength begins drain away, he struggles to stay up but eventually falls, hitting a stack of chairs on landing. Neil drops to the ground in front of the villain who's still clinging to consciousness.
Owlperch: (groans as he struggles to get back up) I'm…not…letting…you…
Neil: Well, you're persistent, I'll give you that. (clenches his leg fist tightly, channeling his power into his hand before slamming his fist into the man's chest; the finishing strike creates a shockwave the sends the nearby chairs flying and a crater beneath him that spreads throughout half of the room, the man coughing out blood as consciousness is completely stripped form him, ending the fight…or at least the first half)
Argent: (slamming open the doors; Neil turns to her) Owlperch! You as*h--!
Neil: Oh, you're here.
Argent: (sees her partner) …! How?
Neil: (shrugs) I guess I'm just better.
Argent: No doubt. But let's see how well you against…ME! (sends light binds at Neil who manages to dodge; Neil performs a series of backflips before running up the walls, he jumps off to dodge another set of ropes; shocking the villainess) How is he seeing my attacks?! (screams in surprise as beam of laser just narrowly misses her, she looks up to see about six owlets hovering in the air glaring glowing-red glass eyes at her) The owlets? But Owlperch's unconscious, isn't he?
Neil: (leaps unto another stack of chairs) Sorry, but they obey me now.
Argent: … (glaring at Neil, she lunges at him with a rope made of white, tangible light protruding from each finger)
Neil leaps to dodge and has an owlet fire its optic lasers at her, she leaps backwards out of the way and grapples into the air with the binds on her righthand. Argent then grapples the drone, swings it around and flings it into the others, destroying two more alongside it. Realizing this, Neil pogoes off a wall straight towards her for the side, coming in from her blind spot, but she senses his approach and swings her binds at him, hitting him like a five-tail whip; Neil crashes down on what appears to be a stage.
Argent: (drops to the ground) I don't know how you're able see already, but I'll fix right…NOW. (releases another living LED attack, but Neil just gets back up, seemingly unfazed and lunges at her; leaving her in shock) What?!
Neil goes in for a slash but she blocks by wrapping up her binds to make a shield, which while solid enough to protect her, still gets sliced in half. She leaps back away from him, gritting her teeth, she retracts her binds and slams her hands into the floor, piercing through the marble with her fingers them sending her binds into the ground. They come back out from the floor, around him, catching off-guard and tying him up; she lets out a triumphant "HAH!".
Neil: … I got careless. I didn't expect she'd attack from the ground, which my guard's up the least; goddammit.
Argent: (smiling victoriously) I've got you now--
Neil: (makes the owlets shoot out metal blades that cut him free…) I doubt that. (…and fly to his side)
Argent: (glaring at him as she gets up) Hmmm. Very well then, it's clear I underestimated you. From here on out I'm taking this fight seriously, lemme just…slip into something a little more comfortable. (extends her binds and turns them on herself, ripping apart her dress to reveal a black, skintighttube-top underneath to match the rest of her outfit; not that Neil could see that)
Argent lunges at Neil, sending all the binds on her right hand after him, Neil however, charges at her as well, slicing through the binds. He makes it to her and attempts slash, but she backflips over him, dodging the attack. He anticipates this and has an owlet blast at her, but she uses her binds to grapple out of the way, lands a few ways away, she extends her right hand at the drones, protruding her binds that intertwine and wrap around together, forming a spike that stabs through an owlet, causing it to explode; but the other two escape.
The owlets fly above her head, hovering over either of her sides and firing lasers and metal blades at her, which dashes forward to dodge, knowing her defense isn't suitable for that kind of attack. Argent turns back towards the drones, running backwards, she crosses her arms and extends her binds at them in such a way that they at first seem to miss completely, only for them to quickly change direction and ensnare the drones. She then swiftly pulls her arms apart, causing the owlets crash into eachother and explode.
Neil: (surprised)…! Crap! I didn't expect those things could turn, and without those drones, this'll be much harder that it was supposed to be.
Argent: No more little toys to save you little boy. (shoots her binds at him) Now fight like a man! (rather than fight, though, Neil – quite literally – ran away; leaping out of the way to hid within a stack of chairs)
Neil: Great, just great. I'm at a disadvantage without those drones right now. It's still a while before my sight returns and my skills can help at least find my way around for now but…
Argent: You think you can hide from me? Please! (whips the chair stack, sending them all flying and exposing Neil)
Neil: …! (leaps into the air, the purple-skinned villain following him with her eyes as he disappears into the darkness of the building's ceiling level)
Argent: I already told you, your pitiful attempts at "hide-n-seek" are useless. (releases another full-body glow that lights up the entire building and exposes Neil crouched down on a horizontal support beam; smirks evilly) There you are!
Neil: If I try to take those things head on, it'll be hard to avoid them without a pair of eyes to see through. Then I'll just not try to avoid them.
Neil waits and concentrates, when the first five binds reach him, he moves quickly to grab them tying them around the beam and sliding down the binds; shocking her. Neil pulls out a roll of steel thread as Argent quickly dematerializes the binds, but it's too late as Neil lands right next to her before she could react and when she does, he effortlessly predicts and dodges the punch she sends his way and throws loop from a tied string of the thread before leaping back to the beams, over one and right back down at her back; hanging her by her arm.
The villain whips the string with her free hand's binds, freeing herself; Neil leaps back as she lands, grimacing, he tries thinks to himself about another strategy but is quickly bound by Argent's binds. The ropes of light sling over the beams and ensnare Neil, hanging him spreadeagled a few feet of the ground. Neil groans, trying to escape but the hold is too strong.
Argent: (lets out a short laugh with a triumphant smirk) Give up! My binds can't be broken by physical strength alone, so there's no point in trying!
Neil: Then I won't.
He uses all his strength and pulls hard on the ropes, Argent lets out a scream as she's dragged towards the beams, hitting her head on one, she falls back down, disabling her binds. Now free, Neil forces his hearing and readies himself, before delivering powerful punch to her midsection once she's within range, sending her flying into the stage, destroying it and incapacitating her.
Neil: (drops to his knees in exhaustion, breathing out relieved sigh)Finally. Man, fighting blind was harder than I thought. I don't know how blind swordsmen pull this off.(looks up in thought)Hmmm. The others better be doing better than me.
The scene fades to black as the chapter ends.
STORY CONTINUES IN CHAPTER: 24 (NIGHTTIME BRAWL V: THE BATTLE CONCLUDES)