Abandon Warehouse.

Cyan nearly passed out till the sudden rush of air filled her lungs and the grip around her neck was gone. Too late to react to the sensation she was feeling, the ground came racing to her body, barely bracing for the landing that ached across her body. Then the ground shook as Silent Prayer came crashing down after her.

He picked her up, his grip not as tight as before, but strong enough for her to be unable claw out of it. She saw his smile as he tossed her sideways like a rag doll. Cyan saw the building move away from her, impacting into the wall behind her.

She groaned at the pain in her back, opening her eyes to see Silent bending the loose metal that was once the walk way above them. She heard the metal grind and restrain fruitlessly to Silent's strength, moulding the metal to a half circle shape. Then he slammed it into the wall, pinning her to the point she couldn't look away from him.

"After that, I'm not going to kill you quickly." Silent Prayer chuckled boldly instead of aggravation in his voice. "I'm going to make it slow, painful too. So much that either you'll beg for me to end it or more likely, your nerves will be screaming so much that you'll snap. That your mind breaks from the sensation, I assure you that I've seen it happen... especially to hardy and veteran huntsmen."

His laughter sent chills down Cyan's back, but it was his breath, so close to her that made her feel ill. The stench made her eyes itch as he reached for a metallic item that extended from his shoulder armour piece. Even in the dim lit warehouse, the blade shined and reflected the light as he marvelled at it in his grasp.

"Now what to cut first..." He pondered as Cyan saw him draw the blade closer to her arm. "...maybe the rest of the arm. Or maybe a leg?"

Cyan felt revulsion surge in her, unable to grab her weapons or Dust, every fibre of her body trying to fight back. She tried moving the metal but the best result she got was the slightest of creaks of the metal. Then she stopped as the knife was next to her cheek.

"Or better yet, the face? Such decisions, so little time to choose. Though the heart, that will be the... last... thing... to... go." Each time he paused, the knife was at another part of her face, the metal close enough to cut but the skin hadn't been severed yet.

Then an idea popped into his head, he remembered the Mistral job from several years ago, one that still gave him joy at the mere memory of it. Then he remembered that Cyan didn't have fingernails, so he decided to break off her arms and do the next best thing. If he couldn't pull off the nails, then he can undo the metal that bonded with her flesh.

Before he could even begin to touch the arm to remove it, the knife was blasted from his hand by an arrow that had rope attached to the end. Then he saw ice encase both his hands as the flurry of paper blinded him. He battered and swatted the paper but for every one he beat down, it teared and latched onto him.

"NOW!" Marron shouted as both Donald and Patty fired more Dust at him, then Roland's bat swung at the back of his knees, sending him falling backwards.

Before hitting the ground, he saw the black leather jacket circle him with the rope, tying him up as he landed. He squirmed as Tawny dragged him, her boots activated with a glow as she slightly hovered over the ground, her legs making the motions of roller blading without wheels.

As he saw the world upside down, being dragged away from his target, came the swing of a broom. Noir launched him up into the air, the world spinning to him as darkness took him completely. Marron's portal sent him crashing into the ground, before dropping him again afterwards from the roof.

Marron signalled Ecru to help her while the others went to guard Chip, who was using every stone and rock around him, entombing Silent who was fighting his way out as Dust was used to seal him to the spot. Ecru and Marron pulled at the metal, as Cyan pleaded with them to leave her. They continued to pull away to free her, ignoring her demands to abandon her, as they strained to get the metal to move an inch.

Marron decided to use her semblance, only as she turned to tell Ecru to step back, she saw a fist of ice punch her, sending her off her feet into the air. Ecru blended in, invisible to Silent who frantically slammed the ground with the one hand encased in ice. The free hand he tore at the paper that still latched across his face.

Noir and Roland battered him away from Cyan, as Patty & Donald continued using the ice Dust arrows to encase him to the spot. Though it didn't freeze him now, it only delayed him as his sheer force vibrated enough to shatter it. Then Chip's rocks distracted him enough to glance over to him.

Silent hadn't expected to see the staff poke his face as Marron used it to jump over him. Before he could grab her foot to slam her into the wall, Tawny used her arm blades to slice away at the armour. Not even a scratch was on the metal plating, so she adjusted the ammo to them and thrusted her arms in an arch, sending flames that caused him to flinch and shield his eyes.

Ecru blended back, still pulling away at the metal despite Cyan telling her to get the others out of there. Ecru pleaded with her friend, still straining to move the walkway enough for Cyan to free at least an arm before she dodged Dust debris coming their way. Then Ecru saw Chip get a direct hit from a rock that was slugged back at him.

So she shot another arrow, it just missed his armour as he grabbed it and yanked her to him. Tawny grabbed her mid air, slashing the rope as Noir charged to swat him. He launched into the air, his semblance to evade made it look like a blur to Noir who missed hitting him by seconds.

Silent Prayer came crashing back down, almost right on top of Noir had Marron not got her safely away. Though Patty did topple over from the ground shaking, nearly dropping her bow as she tried getting back up. Donald pushed her out of the way as Silent began to fire his gun again, he ducked to miss the bullets but as fast as he stood up after the bullets stopped, he felt the kick in his stomach.

Silent Prayer than tossed him as Donald clutched his chest and fell to the floor, when Silent stamped his foot on Donald. Silent kept adding pressure to his foot, it digging into Donald as he tried pushing the weight up to no avail. Patty clambered to strike but Silent Prayer swung her by her leg into the ground.

Donald called out to her but Silent stomped on his chest, with enough force for him to be gripped to the spot in pain. Silent then felt blow after blow of the bat, as Roland jumped onto Silent's armour. He jumped off and was ready to swing again, but Silent grabbed the tip of the bat, and with enough force, he bent the bat to make it spiral and twist. The Dust Roland activated blasted in Silent's hand but it was misfired in the wrong direction, right at Tawny.

She felt the arctic chill descend her leg as Chip dragged her to cover. His rocks flew at Silent who flicked them off with ease as he then grabbed one in his hand. Marron redirected the ones that were flicked back while Noir reconfigured 'Grimalkin' to fire Dust shots at the ones that escaped Marron's semblance.

Ecru threw the sheaths, now in its boomerang form, as it sliced into Silent Prayer's arm plating. In frustration, Silent threw the rock from his hand, which Olive sliced in half with a clean swing of her sword, sending a shockwave of air back at him. Silent then caught and crushed the inside part of the sheath, tearing it to pieces before striking down on Olive with the largest piece that was left.

Roland grabbed her and shielded her from the slap of Silent's fist, as he forced the sheath down while Olive began to buckle under the strain of resisting his strike. They were both sent flying together, both strained from the force of the impact, unable to retreat to cover. Silent laughed at the feeble attempts as their friends came to defend them.

Then Silent walked over to Cyan, despite Marron's strategy to stop him, he swatted them & their attacks like they were insects to him. He leaned in to her, all the while smiling, which unnerved her to the core. Yet it was his words that struck the biggest nerve, so much that she started forcing herself free, even if it resulted in breaking her arms.

"You care for them, don't you?" Silent Prayer's grinned as he saw the sweet terror in Cyan's face, confirming his rhetorical question. "Then you can watch them bleed to death before this night is over. Then and only then, will you die by my hand!"

Noir tried to strike behind him, but he caught her cape and flung her. Ecru caught her, yet the semblance had dissipated, meaning Silent could see her as he slammed both fists down on her. Ecru didn't see what came next, Silent had propelled himself upward with his grip on Ecru's arms.

She was then spiralling down towards Noir, with Marron's semblance she got a less rough landing, though she struggled to maintain her balance afterwards. Marron than braced as Silent made a barrage of strikes, no sooner a strike landed on her staff, he landed another blow. She was being backed into a corner, seeing the others still struggling to catch their breath and unable to come to Marron's aid.

Then Marron saw Silent's fist fire the chain gun gauntlet, instinctively using her semblance to redirect the bullets but they didn't come at her. He switched his aim to the others, though as he fired the rounds, Marron did block his attack but failed to see his free hand. The hand grabbed her throat and he thrusted her into the wall next to Cyan.

Marron didn't have the chance to use her semblance, the force against the wall made her drop her wands, and then slumped to the floor. Noir tried to crawl but was too bruised to move, as were the others as they strained from where they fell too. Unknowing to Silent Prayer, the force he used against Marron was just enough to loosen the walkway cage he had constructed.

Cyan sent it soaring into him with help from the static her stress had created. He hadn't seen it, so he grunted from the blast, his fingers scratching the ground, leaving indents of his fingers as he came to a halt. Then his smirked widened as Cyan produced a rod, transforming into a scythe, one he'd gladly take back as a trophy.

"Get the fuck away from my friends!" Her voice boomed as she slashed at him.

He was excited as he drew his own scythe, the blades colliding and the forces pushing one another back as they struck constantly at the same moment. This was what he hoped for he thought, using the scythe to slash to both counter and sever. He used his semblance to give his forward momentum an extra boost, slamming her aside like a truck ramming a bike off the road.

The others tried to get up, to help give a shot at firing a round at him. Yet they stopped cold from one look at Cyan. Gone was the terrified eyes, in the fear's place was a fire, a will that was electrifying, as she got back up firing static blasts at him. Cyan then used the scythe as a lance, Silent was caught off by the transformation, before grabbing one of her swords.

It became three blades, cutting into the scythe he wielded, as he used it like an axe instead against her. Cyan dodged his thrusts and swings, using her size to evade his reach, causing him to be open to her punches. Silent then saw his scythe fly from his hands, the chain was slashed and her static blast cracked it from the damage earlier.

He watched in surprise as his prized weapon shatter like glass shards on the ground, not seeing the hand grab his face. He saw a bright light as the static stung his eyes, frantically covering his face as he blindly searched for her. The next thing he knew was that he was hit in the knee, sent crashing down face first into the dirt, his teeth tasting every grain they brushed against.

He could hear laughter, he could hear hope in their cheers, as he strained to rebalance from the ground. Silent's eyes were then blasted as he looked up, howling from the static that pulsed across his face. He gritted his teeth through the nerves screaming, now firing his gauntlet chain gun in every direction.

He didn't see Chip's stones block his bullets, nor the arrows scrape the armour plates, he did hear where they were coming from. Cyan however stabbed and then evaded his counter move of kicks that were high enough to collide with the back of her neck. She managed to slice off small shards, though his armour resisted most of the collective attacks.

Dust was thrown by most of the others, while Marron and Tawny yanked them to safety from Silent's bombardment of bullets. Then clicking came as he frantically cursed to the heavens, discarding the empty weapon than reload it. He grabbed a large lightening Dust crystal, activating a bolt that blasted straight through Chip's stone shield.

Ecru pushed him from the blast but the light cast her shadow, so Silent knew where she was despite her concealment through her semblance. Cyan then charged in front of her as he pointed the Dust crystal at Ecru's head. They expected Cyan to counter it with Dust or block it with her weapons, instead she outstretched her arm, the glove tearing away from the lightning.

"Hey asshole!" Cyan shouted over the roar of the lightening that was sizzling and sparking. "You should've done your research better, cos electricity is my element!"

"Why isn't she hurt?" Donald asked, as the lightening kept roaring away as did Cyan blocking it.

"It's her semblance, she can create static electricity and even manipulate it too." Marron explained, seeing Silent Prayer up the voltage of the Dust crystal.

"So that means..." Patty suddenly acknowledged what Cyan was doing.

"Yeah, his attack is being manipulated by her, actually absorbed. Like charging up a battery." Marron added as Noir grinned, with the others in a daze of confusion.

"DUCK!" Cyan ordered to the others as she absorbed the last of the lightning Dust.

Then her arm clicked and whirled, almost in the blink of an eye, her fingers and hand had transformed. With one swing of her arm, they saw her metal arm now shaped like a cannon, and a thin beam of blue lightening shot out of it. They ducked down as it arched across the right to the left, tearing through the wall and Silent Prayer's armour.

It lasted only a few seconds, but they stood in shock as Silent staggered back. Chunks of his armour fell off as he wretched at the pain across his chest. Cyan's arm had already returned to normal, as she used static in both hands to launch herself forward.

Silent didn't see the punch, as Cyan began to slash away at the armour. Pieces chipped away, from the small with the kicks to the large from deep slashes along the burnt static. Silent thrashed and growled at every stab of pain that surged across his flesh as his aura barrier strained with every slash.

Cyan's static gave her thrust, almost a blur to the students watching. They wanted to aid but sided with Marron, as Silent didn't stand still long enough for an opening. He tried grabbing Cyan's head, but just seconds from grabbing her, she had countered with another blow or slash.

"Fine, then we all die here!" Silent spat with discontent, a pulsing sound emitting from what chest armour he had left. 'Better to die for the cause, than the alternative.' He laughed with rage in his head, starting to laugh uncontrollably as the pulsing became erratically deafening.

"I'LL TAKE YOUR LIFE, EVEN IF IT CLAIMS MY OWN!" He menacingly chuckled as they feared what he pulled out of his sleeve.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Donald hollered over the orchestra of laughter and electronic warnings. "Doesn't he care about his own life?!" The question didn't get answered as they were shielded by the few rocks Chip could muster at the last moment.

They braced for a bang, even a blinding glow. Yet neither happened, as Cyan's fist slammed deep into the chest armour and the pulsing quietened to a whisper and then silence. They saw Cyan's hand pull back, as she took the suit's electricity, the self destruct's power and had powered up her semblance for a decisive strike.

"How?" was all he could ask, the look of utter loss as the fist struck the suit. The last thick pieces that were holding by the tiniest of threads had ruptured in a blaze of blue static. His aura shield flashed before leaving him as he stumbled backwards, smoke coming off his body from the heat. Cyan walked up to him, an uppercut spiralling him further backwards.

They cheered for Cyan till they witnessed something none of them had suspected. She tore his arms clean off at the wrists. There was no blood, nor bone as they were chucked to the sides. Instead there were wires, bolts, and other scrapes of loose metal under a false fleshy skin of arms. She guessed right she thought, wondering what it was about his grip that reminded her of her hands, as she tossed his to one side.

"That was for my parents." Cyan coldly remarked, slowly stepping closer to him as he backed up.

He believed he still had one trick up his sleeve, thinking if he got enough height with his semblance, that he could land from above, causing enough damage for a victory. That was until the three bladed sword pierced through his right leg, under his knee cap, as he screamed from the rush of pain.

"That was for seven years of hellish pain!" Cyan spoke, holding back the rage as they watched in horror as she luged 'Thunder', like 'Lightning' into his other leg, straight into his foot as he cried out in pain. "That was for hurting Silas and my friends!"

"Stop it Cyan!" Patty begged, utterly ill from the relentless attack Cyan was doing. "You've already beaten him!"

"How many have you killed?" Cyan ignored Patty, raising 'Shock Reaper' in scythe mode at Silent's throat. "How many?!" She screamed at him to answer, as he chuckled and coughed at the question.

"I lost count after my first hundred. What difference does it make, for the lives of the insignificant?" He asked back, with a smile, actually feeling bliss at the rage on her face.

"Insignificant?! They were people, with families and dreams! And you killed them, for what? Money? Because they were a threat?" She demanded, edging the blade closer and closer every second he didn't answer.

"Mostly money, but honestly, because its fun seeing them squirm. To cry, to beg, to weep." He proudly spoke as the others heard the cruelty and the deeds he had done. "The best though, are like you. The prey that fight back. Like dear mommy and daddy."

It was his next words that pushed her over, to raise her scythe up as it became a lance, pointed at his heart.

"They'd be so proud of their little girl." His words filled the others with the urge to call to her, begging her to stop, to get help so that he faces the law. Ecru cried 'No', knowing that she like the others wouldn't reach her in time to stop her downward motion of revenge.

"This is for Sylvia, and everyone you've killed, you sick bastard! Cyan strained to not howl it out as she plunged her lance downward, the others turning away as it came crashing down.

Silent Prayer closed his eyes, content with his fate, for he now understood how she had survived. That look in her eyes, as the darkness filled his closed eyelids, was just like his mentor, back when he took his first kill.

To Be Continued...

[Thank you for reading this chapter, I do hope you enjoyed it. The climax to Volume 1 is just around the corner, so it will not be long for the next instalment. So keep an eye out for the conclusion and the fate of Team MNCE.]