Free Web NovelChapter 116: Chapter 115 - Dracula vs Harmony Outliers(Part 1)
Point-of-View: Mike Barnes
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"I’m beat...," I sighed wearily, as I plopped my tray onto one of the cafeteria tables, a bit of my food splashing out.
"Come on, man," Responded Zoraiz in exasperation, who was sitting across me at the same table, Alexis seated next to him.
"My B. Guess I made a mess prematurely," I quipped dryly.
"Wow, you usually deliver your crappy jokes with such confidence, but that was super half-assed," Remarked Alexis with an amused look. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"Yeah, yeah."
I don’t have the energy to hold a proper conversation right now...I’m just gonna eat and then go to sleep for a whole lotta hours. Maybe days.
It’s been mission after mission lately, and I’m freaking beat. The Monster outbreaks are finally starting to slow down a bit, but they haven’t yet stopped.
And the higher ups have opted to rest most of the Category 0s, meaning that the burden on us Category 1s had been significantly increased in the last few days.
"You okay? You’ve got dark circles under your eyes," Pointed out Zoraiz, as he finished eating and began scrolling through his phone.
"I’m fine, just tired."
"Doesn’t Harmony have, like, an HR kinda thing? If so, you should complain about overwork," Suggested Alexis, as she peered over Zoraiz’s shoulder as he nudged her and turned his phone screen towards her.
"You two sure seem to be getting along well late-...hey, what’s with those expressions?" I inquired, as stunned looks appeared on both their faces.
"Uh...well, it looks like Dracula has laid waste to that private island where all those religious followers had gathered. A lot of the posts are being taken down pretty quickly, but there’s so many being re-posted and shared that it doesn’t matter," Remarked Zoraiz, before showing me his screen.
I tapped on one of the clips, to see people skewered with earth spikes, while others being torn apart with whip-like streaks of blood. I then tapped on another video, to see blood needles raining down and piercing through several people.
"Hey, I found a live stream...it’s dead quiet though, I, uh...don’t think anyone’s alive. Also, I think there’s a fire," Said Alexis, as she held up her own phone, displaying a blood-soaked grassy yard littered with corpses, and flames spreading in the background.
As I heard murmurs around the cafeteria, I glanced around to see everyone on their phones...well, these two hadn’t exactly been keeping their voices down, they must have overheard them.
"Oh, it got taken down," Said Zoraiz, as the stream suddenly ended. freёweɓnovel.com
"I saw stuff like bazookas and assault rifles laying about by the bodies. I know they were just normal humans and no real threat to Vampires, but it’s still kinda incredible," Muttered Alexis with a frown.
"Well, modern weaponry is very much capable of hurting or injuring us Meta-Humans and Demi-Humans, including Vampires. Though, well, Vampires have incredible regenerative capabilities, a few gunshots or even blowing up half their bodies won’t be enough to kill them," I informed her.
I don’t feel that tired anymore...this has me really concerned. What if Harmony decides that we need to get rid of Dracula? And worse, what if I’m one on the ones assigned to that task? Yeah, if it comes to that, I’ll die for sure.
"Seriously? I’d sure as hell hate to have to fight something that durable, not to mention powerful," Sighed Zoraiz wistfully.
"Is it even possible for a Meta-Human to kill a Vampire by themselves?" Asked Alexis curiously.
"Maybe a low level Vampire, but even the weakest Vampire would probably be a significant challenge for a single Meta-Human. We don’t know for sure exactly what it takes to kill a Vampire, but in the few recorded instances of Vampire deaths we’ve got, it’s usually involved eradicating close to all traces of them," I remarked with a wry smile.
"So, like Cell or Buu from DBZ?" Surmised Zoraiz in response.
Oh, right, Inoka’s got him hooked on anime lately...
"Well, maybe not quite to those extents. But you’re on the right track, I guess," I replied with a nod.
"I don’t really get it, but I guess you’re saying that they’re super hard to kill, right?" Chimed in Alexis.
"That’s putting it lightly," I responded, before noticing a portal open by the entrance of the cafeteria, "Oh, looks like Neo’s here. This better not be another mission for me-...h-huh?"
Th-that’s...that’s, uh, not Neo. Please tell me that I’m just hallucinating due to my fatigue and exhaustion...
"Greetings, Meta-Humans of Harmony. Tell me, where might I find your Outliers? I believe they are in this facility, yes?"
Goddammit, I think this is really happening...
"Is that...Dracula?" Remarked Zoraiz in disbelief, following a brief, stunned silence in the cafeteria.
"Hm? Ah, the two of you appear to have unusually immense Auras for Meta-Humans...allow me to test your strengths. Well, I say that, but you really do not have a choice in the matter," He stated intimidatingly.
Shit...!
I swiftly leapt out of my seat and shot towards him, activating Fortify, Reinforce and Accelerate as I yelled at the two of them...
"Get out of here! I’ll buy you some time, find the others and get away!"
As I closed in on Dracula and drew back my fist, a chill of fear ran down my spine, as he calmly shifted his eyes and met my gaze, before swinging the back of his fist towards my chest.
I’m gonna die.
As I stared down my own death barreling towards me, I instinctively reacted, taking a page from Zoraiz’s book and using my maximum output on Fortify to briefly increase the durability of my body as much as I could, while crossing my arms in front of my chest...
I felt an immense burst of pain shoot across my arms as the bones in my forearms shattered, and the next thing I knew, I was feeling a huge amount of pain on my chest and back.
Oh...I got sent flying back and slammed onto a wall. My back is in agony...and my ribcage is severely broken. It’s...it’s no good, I think I’m passing out...I coughed out blood as my vision blurred, before rapidly darkening as I lost consciousness...
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Point-of-View: Zoraiz Rafayet
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Huh? Mike?
I couldn’t move, my body felt frozen, my chest tight and without even realizing it, I was holding my breath.
"Oh, he survived? Impressive, not many Meta-Humans are capable of reacting to my speed," Remarked Dracula, as he brushed the back of his hand.
Suddenly, a crackle erupted from next to me, as Alexis leapt onto the table and sprang forward, zipping towards Dracula before abruptly halting and raising her palm and pointing it at him from a few meters away...
"Get blasted to bits! Now, Electro Skill: Directed Burst!" She snapped, as a massive, blinding explosion of lightning burst forth with a vicious spark and crackle, illuminating the entire room in an overwhelmingly bright light, the air getting all static-y as I felt my hair starting to stand up.
As the blast dissipated and the electric light faded, gasps and murmurs of shock and disbelief echoed around the room, as the dust cleared to reveal...Dracula almost completely unscathed, except for a charred right arm...which then healed almost instantly.
"You’re kidding me...," Muttered Alexis, taking a step back.
"That was quite an immense blast...had you caught me off-guard with such an attack, I would likely have sustained a significant degree of damage. Impressive...but not good enough," Remarked Dracula, as he opened and closed his fist a couple of times, before taking a step towards her.
Physical Skill: Accelerate!
Without thinking, I found myself shooting forward towards him, zipping past Alexis and closing in on the Vampire rapidly, my fist drawn back.
Huh? He’s...following my movements with incredible ease, making it feel like I was moving in slow motion. But...his guard was down. He isn’t seeing me as a threat whatsoever. I’ll use that to my advantage!
As I closed in on him, I swiftly maxed out Reinforce, boosting my physical strength thirtyfold, before grabbing the top of his head and crushing his skull in my fist, before Reinforce forcibly deactivated as I reached the limit of how long I could maintain it at maximum output.
I then gritted my teeth and activated it again, before swinging my leg up and slamming my foot onto his torso, cracking and fracturing his ribs, before sending him flying back and crashing onto a wall with a devastating impact, severe cracks spreading out from the point of impact.
That’s the most powerful strike I’m capable of, and I couldn’t even fully break his ribs? The hell is he made of?
"Hm, that was quite painful, and quite surprising...I did not expect such an impact," Mused Dracula, his injuries already fully healed as he stood back up...I crushed his head, and it grew back almost immediately?
That’s just unfair...
He then shot towards me and swung his arm across at my head...I just barely managed to max out Perception and Accelerate, which allowed me to react in time and narrowly evade his attack, as I ducked under it, his fist whizzing past me just millimeters above my face.
But as I lost control of my maximum output and the techniques dissipated, he swiftly raised his knee as I began to spring back, striking my midsection with immense force. I coughed out blood before getting sent flying back and up, crashing onto the ceiling and falling onto the floor with a painful thud, my stomach in absolute agony.
It hurts so much that I can’t even move, but...but he definitely struck Mike with a lot more force than this. Is he holding back for some reason? Why? Damn it...it’s no use, I’m in way too much pain to think straight...
As Alexis then sprang up to his left and fired out a rapid lightning arrow at his head from just a few meters away, he swiftly raised his hand and blasted out an intense lightning bolt of his own, which canceled out her attack and struck her.
She let out a sharp cry of pain before collapsing onto her knees, her hair singed and several burns on her skin, her body trembling in pain.
"Not too bad, I suppose, but nothing remarkable. I see, it is just as I was told...you are talented but too green and inexperienced to be a real threat, perhaps this will not be as challenging as I-...," Began Dracula, before trailing off as a shadow was cast around him, glancing over his shoulder to see...a massive, dark shadowy arm looming over him, with sharp claws poised to converge in on him.
And further behind, was a very pissed off looking Aurora...
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