Chapter 14: Vigilante's Rampage, Part II
Full AN at the end of the chapter this time.
Outworld, Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits
Izuku fired a bullet into Erron Black, rage blinding his vision to his ally's battles.
Black, the cheeky bastard that he was, blocked the attack with a bullet of his own.
The two Kombatants continued to fire at each other, as they began to run across each other.
Erron Black, after running out of shots in his revolver, quickly dug out his rifle, before firing it at Izuku. Izuku dove into cover, checking how many bullets he still had in his pistol.
Fifteen shots left. Thirty-one shots per reload. Black can't outlast me in a firefight with those revolvers of his, which is why he also relies on his lever-action rifle. He's got twelve shots with the revolvers, and if that gun is what I think it is, then the rifle gives him an additional fourteen shots, so twenty-six shots overall. If I was Black, I'd try closing the distance, since I'm at a five-shot disadvantage.
Thinking quickly, Izuku dug out a small device, implanting it on the dais he was hiding under. He'd barely set it up before Erron Black threw a grenade at him. The glass orb shattered, spraying sand over Izuku's eyes. Izuku cursed, before rolling backward. Izuku's instinct was proven correct, as a sword dug into the stone where Izuku previously was.
As Erron Black walked ran towards Izuku, the device next to him flashed, before exploding, sending arcs of electricity towards the bounty hunter. Erron Black convulsed in pain, as Izuku wiped the sand from his eyes.
Izuku took aim with his pistols. However, at the last minute, Erron Black recovered, sending his blade at Izuku's hands. Izuku cursed, quickly ducking backward. One of his pistols soared into the air, forcing Izuku to a mere seven shots with his other pistol.
Erron Black, not one to let go of the opportunity, tackled Izuku, trying to wrestle the pistol out of his hand. Yanking the pistol away from the vigilante, the bounty hunter quickly aimed. As his finger pulled down on the trigger, Izuku grabbed the barrel, aiming it sideways.
Six shots.
Missing his target, Erron Black was unprepared for the punch to his neck, disorienting him. Izuku, taking back his pistol, aimed at Black. Pulling the trigger, Izuku's hand was forced to the side, as the bounty hunter once again tried to wrestle the gun away from him.
Five shots.
Yanking it out of the vigilante's grip, Izuku was forced to roll as Erron Black once again tried to use Izuku's own gun against him.
Four shots.
A snarl decorating his face, Izuku tackled Black, his elbow aiming for the back of the bounty hunter's knee. With his opponent forced to the ground, Izuku rolled to the side, as Black pulled the trigger again.
Three shots.
Jumping on top of Erron Black's chest, Izuku threw a hook punch onto the downed hunter, while also grabbing his gun with the other hand.
Dazed but not defeated, Erron Black grabbed Izuku's collar as Izuku was about to throw another punch. Delivering a headbutt to the vigilante, Erron Black found the strength to throw Izuku away from him, quickly getting up from the floor. As Izuku landed, he immediately rolled to the side, as he heard his gun go off again.
Two shots.
Activating one of his switchblades in his right hand, Izuku grabbed Black's wrist, before trying to drive his blade into one of the hunter's eyes. Black ducked at the last moment, forcing Izuku to let go of the gun and to try and slash him across the head. Erron Black ducked yet again, bringing up Izuku's pistol. Izuku, realizing what was about to happen, used the handle to force the gun downwards, as another shot echoed through the Flesh Pit.
One-shot left. After this one, we'll either be on equal ground, or one of us will try to go for the other pistol. If any of us grab that pistol, it'll be another eight shots. At this point, the gun will be more of a hindrance for me. I gotta keep this guy in melee range if I want to stand a better chance of killing him.
Izuku, throwing a backfist onto the bounty hunter's mouth, took advantage of his small window of opportunity by trying to drive his switchblade into Black's right eye. Black, realizing what was about to happen, hopped back, trying to take aim once again. Izuku, tossing his switchblade onto his left hand, redirected Erron's aiming hand away from him as the gun fired again.
ZERO!
Unprepared for the vigilante's quick counter, Erron couldn't react in time before Izuku brutally grabbed his right arm and drove the switchblade into his shoulder, forcing the bounty hunter to drop his gun.
Izuku smirked, his grin as bloodthirsty as it was angry, before trying to drive the switchblade into Erron's vital spots, keeping his grip on Erron's right arm the entire time.
Erron Black, realizing that he was now at the disadvantage, began to walk backward, keeping himself from barely being stabbed by the vengeful vigilante. Izuku, in his fury, didn't notice an opening he had left the hunter. An opening Erron Black was all too happy to exploit, as he threw Izuku's grip off his arm. As Izuku tried to recover, Black grabbed his collar, before delivering another headbutt to the vigilante. Dazed, Izuku was left with no time to recover, as Erron Black tackled Izuku off his feet, throwing both Kombatants over a dais and onto the floor and forcing Izuku's jacket off his body. The two Kombatants groaned, trying to get back on their feet.
Erron Black chuckled. "Been a while since I've gotten a scrap this good."
Izuku wasn't in the mood to listen. "Shut up."
Black nodded, somewhat understanding of his opponent's mindset.
"Still upset about your lady, huh? I understand. If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't anything personal, just business."
Izuku shook his head.
"You hurt one of the few people I care about, Black. Now, I'm going to hurt you, and I'll take my time doing it." he growled, taking out another switchblade. He spun them in his hands, putting them in a reverse grip.
Erron Black chuckled again. "See? That's the stuff I'm looking for, partner," he replied, digging his Severed Tarkatan Blade out of the ground.
The two Kombatants stared each other down for a few moments, before they simultaneously rushed at each other.
P.O.V Switch - Kenshi
Kenshi began to wonder how fucked up Outworld truly was, facing down the Kombatant in front of him.
When he had claimed that he could see the specter just fine, it wasn't a lie. What he hadn't said was that he could see a twisted amalgamation of souls that had been split apart, stitched together, and thrown into battle.
What was in front of him was a horror, something straight out of the horror stories his mother used to tell him as a boy.
What had once been the individual souls of the warriors that had fallen in battle, was now something so twisted and vile that Kenshi felt nothing but pity towards it. Destroying it would be a mercy.
Ermac attacked first, sending a blast of telekinetic energy towards the blind swordsman. Kenshi repelled it away with a blast of his own telekinesis. Ermac tilted his head in confusion, before firing more blasts of telekinesis towards Kenshi.
Realizing that constantly repelling his enemy's attacks would be fruitless, Kenshi decided to dodge the attack instead. Having a small window of opportunity to counter-attack, Kenshi threw a projection of himself into an attack. With Ermac disoriented by the projection throwing a hook punch to his face, Kenshi closed the distance and drew Sento into a forward stab.
Ermac, realizing that he could not use a telekinesis blast in close quarters, used the power of soul energy to throw himself into the air. Kenshi, missing his attack, was unprepared for his body to spin into the air in a blast of green energy. Ermac took advantage of the swordsman's dazed state by throwing a spinning hook kick into his opponent's ribs as he was levitating in the air, spinning Kenshi into the ground.
Kenshi, landing roughly on the ground of the Flesh Pits, spat out a small glob of blood.
Shit, that kick was no joke. An opponent who is that strong close range, with that much maneuverability through the power of soul magic, and gifted in Telekinesis? No wonder so many of Outworld's denizens fear this creature.
Kenshi knew what he was about to attempt was dangerous. The last time he had attempted to do it, he had been left blind.
It's different now. Many of my ancestor's souls have been stolen by Shang Tsung, and my senses have been retrained to follow my ancestor's help. This is the only way. Otherwise, this creature will kill me and my allies.
Kenshi took a deep breath, before entering a stance.
Ancestors, I require your aid. My opponent is too much for me to take on alone. Will you help?
A dozen voices began to whisper in Kenshi's head, as the sword began to glow.
We hear your call. We send our aid.
As the voices began to share their own experience and power with Kenshi, he gave a vicious smile. As Ermac threw another blast of telekinesis towards the swordsman, Kenshi grabbed it, before quickly redirecting it at the specter. As Ermac found himself distracted by willing away the blast, Kenshi closed the distance. Refusing to give the monster an inch of ground, Kenshi grabbed Ermac by his collar, before sending Sento towards his chest.
Ermac quickly used his soul energy to spin away from the lethal blow, suffering only a glancing strike. However, when Sento made a nick on the monster's flesh, Ermac roared in pain. Grabbing the wound, the monster began to haphazardly stumble backward.
Immediately following through on his missed strike with a spinning backhand to Ermac's jaw, throwing the monster a few meters back, Kenshi smirked.
"What's the matter? Those souls of yours not agreeable towards my ancestors?"
Our blade is capable of absorbing the souls of those it kills. That is why the monster has been hurt so badly by one nick.
Kenshi shelved that little revelation about his ancestral blade into the back of his mind. He'd have plenty of time to worry about the implications of that later. Now, there was only Kombat.
Ermac, now wary of his enemy, kept himself at a far distance from the swordsman. In a flash of green light, he disappeared from Kenshi's senses.
Behind you!
Kenshi, heeding the warning, ducked downwards, as Ermac reappeared and thrust his fist to where Kenshi's chest previously was. Quickly taking advantage of his small opening, Kenshi put Sento into a reverse two-handed grip, stabbing backward.
The blade met flesh, and Ermac roared in pain. The voices began to shriek, as a sizeable hole appeared on the monster's torso. Ermac, dazed, fell to the ground.
Perfect. Now, use our power. Drain the souls contained in his body.
Kenshi shook his head.
I will not defile this blade with these corrupted souls. There must be another way.
You will only make your fight more difficult. Are you certain you wish to do this?
Yes.
Our power is capable of disrupting the connection between the specter's flesh and their various souls. However, you will need to damage him with Sento a great deal to achieve this effect. It will be far riskier to try than just draining their souls.
I am not Shang Tsung. We will do this the old-fashioned way.
Ermac, shaking himself out of his stupor, glared at the blind swordsman. Kenshi raised his blade, as the Pits began to shake and crumble with the force of Ermac's anger.
P.O.V Switch - Kung Lao
As Kung Lao caught Skarlet's fists, he smiled.
"Can we not just have a parley? All this fighting is starting to wear on my nerves."
Skarlet made a small noise of disgust, ripping her arms away from the Shaolin Monk.
"I would prefer to suck you dry." Skarlet growled.
Kung Lao smirked. "Skarlet, we hardly know each other!" he reprimanded, as if he was talking to a rowdy child.
Skarlet's eyes narrowed, before she disappeared in a pool of blood. Kung Lao, realizing what the assassin was about to try, threw his bladed hat behind him. As Skarlet reappeared, her eyes widened in alarm. Throwing herself to the side, she saw the hat dig into the foundations of the Flesh Pits.
Skarlet took a moment to observe the lethal weapon, before turning to Kung Lao.
"Hmm. And here I thought your monks adhered to the principles of peace and harmony! Yet, you have a weapon that is designed only to kill your opponents. Tsk tsk. How disappointed would Liu Kang be if he found out his best friend, his brother in all but blood, was a killer?"
Kung Lao shook his head. "Not all Shaolin believe as Liu Kang does. As regrettable as it is, sometimes the best way to keep the peace and harmony of others is through bloodshed."
Skarlet chuckled. "And here I thought you monks were all boring. Are you certain you belong to Earthrealm? You could make quite a name for yourself in the Emperor's Court, you know."
"I'm afraid I'll have to pass that offer, dear Skarlet." Kung Lao replied, as his hat rematerialized upon his head.
"That's a shame." Skarlet stated, drawing out her daggers. The two Kombatants stood still for a few moments, before exploding into action.
Skarlet attacked first, throwing her daggers at Kung Lao. The monk, thinking quickly, took off his hat and deflected the daggers, before throwing it at Skarlet. Dodging to the side, Skarlet closed the distance, taking out two more daggers and slashing them towards Kung Lao's head. Ducking backward, Kung Lao dodged the lethal blow, as his hat once again rematerialized on his head.
Realizing that his opponent was stronger in close range, Kung Lao threw a few kicks towards Skarlet with his left leg. Skarlet, blocking his blows and grabbing Kung Lao's leg, was unprepared for the monk to hop into the air with his right leg. While in the air, Kung Lao threw all his strength into a kick with his right leg. Hitting Skarlet square on the face, she let go of the monk as she was viciously thrown back by the force of the kick.
Deciding to capitalize on his ranged advantage, Kung Lao threw his hat at Skarlet, again and again. The assassin, unwilling to be taken down so easily, blocked each blow with her blood daggers, as each dagger was shattered into pieces by the force of the bladed hat. As fast as his hat rematerialized, Skarlet conjured up another dagger, keeping the two into a small-arms race.
As the two kept each other in a stalemate, Skarlet took a moment to analyze her opponent. After she had lost six more daggers in parrying the bladed hat, she realized a fatal weakness of the monk. Whenever his hat needed to be rematerialized, Kung Lao had to make a motion with his fingers.
With a plan now in mind, Skarlet was about to allowed herself to get hit, when the ground began to quake wildly. Taking advantage of the lapse of attention in her opponent, Skarlet disappeared once again in a pool of blood. Kung Lao once again threw his hat backward to defend himself. However, this time, Skarlet reappeared in front of him, catching the monk by surprise. Humming in satisfaction, Skarlet gave Kung Lao no time to rematerialize his hat, constantly throwing slashes, stabs, and kicks towards the monk to keep him distracted.
As Skarlet threw a front stab with one of her daggers, Kung Lao grabbed her hand, throwing a jab towards Skarlet's jaw. Disoriented, the assassin had no time to react before Kung Lao grabbed the back of her head and forced her stomach to his knee. Skarlet, left weakened, did not have the strength to keep ahold of one of her daggers, something that Kung Lao was all too happy to capitalize on. Forcing the dagger away from her hand, Kung Lao immediately drove it to her stomach, before taking it out and spinning it in his hand. Free of Skarlet's constant barrage of blows, Kung Lao rematerialized his bladed hat.
Skarlet chuckled, her voice full of mirth.
"If only all my opponents were like you, monk." she stated, before an orb of blood was fashioned out of the stab wound on her stomach.
"Sadly, our time together has to come to an end now." she said, as the dagger in Kung Lao's melted to slag by the heat of Skarlet's blood. Kung Lao, realizing how badly he'd be hurt if he kept the dagger, quickly dropped it, as the metal slag left a mark on the floor.
She's no joke. I wonder how the others are doing right now.
P.O.V Switch - Izuku
As Izuku faced down his opponent, he flashed back to one of his many fights with his old teacher.
"Why do you think I'm training you and Toga on how to use a knife, while I use a katana?"
"I don't know. You're the teacher here, Akaguro-sensei."
"You're a strong fighter, Izuku, but your advantage comes from your dexterity, your quick reflexes, and your surprising speed. A longsword wielder, when they attack, must remain committed to that attack, leaving their defense wide open if they miss. That's where the beauty of your weapon comes to play, especially when you dual-wield them. Once you block, parry, or dodge a longsword users' attack, then it's easy to capitalize on their slow recovery with one or both of your weapons."
That lesson had stuck with Izuku ever since. It was what had allowed him to defeat Stain all those years ago.
It was why he had decided to activate both his switchblades when he realized that Erron Black was standing right on top of his Tarkatan sword.
As Erron Black threw a wide swing with his sword, Izuku dodged the blow, forcing the sword to get stuck on one of the many daises in the Flesh Pit. With the bounty hunter left wide open, Izuku drove one of his switchblades deep into Erron Black's other shoulder, while driving the other into his stomach. Shouting in pain, Erron Black was forced to drop his sword.
At that moment, the ground quaked, and Erron Black took advantage of his opponent's distracted attention by headbutting Izuku away from him. Taking a glance over his injuries, Erron Black took a deep breath, leaving the blades in his body.
Clever bastard. Unlike what the movies show, removing a knife from your wound will just make it worse. His tackle tore off my jacket and left me weaponless, so now I have to fight on his terms.
Lowering himself into a fighting stance, Izuku and Erron Black stared at each other for a few moments, trying to gauge what the other would do.
Erron Black attacked first, throwing a wide hook punch towards Izuku's jaw. As Izuku dodged the blow, Erron Black continued to throw punch after punch, barely giving Izuku any room to breathe.
However, even the strongest of fighters can't keep up a barrage of blows for that long, and Izuku found an opening. Parrying one of Erron's strikes, Izuku threw a knifehand chop towards the bounty hunter's throat, Black, barely reacting in time, blocked the chop, before grabbing Izuku's arm. Throwing a jab into Black's face, Izuku freed his arm from the hunter's grip.
Switching tactics, Izuku grabbed Black's right arm, spinning him around. Trying to take advantage of Black's stunned state, Izuku bought his foot down on the hunter's knee. Erron Black, realizing what the vigilante was trying to do, bought his foot to the left, dodging the knee-shattering kick. Escaping Izuku's grapple, the bounty hunter spun to the ground, before grabbing Izuku's right leg.
Izuku, unwilling to be bought down to the ground, responded by kneeing Erron Black in the face with his left leg. Disoriented, Izuku capitalized on the opportunity by throwing Erron to the ground.
Unfortunately, the bounty hunter counted on his opponent trying to bring him to the ground and was able to grab Izuku's collar before he went down. Tumbling to the floor, Izuku was unprepared for Erron Black to climb on top of his chest and throw a punch towards his face. Turning his head to his side, Izuku felt the stone ground next to him shatter.
Shit, he's enhanced! Must be some type of Outworld magic!
Izuku, unwilling to find out what Black's enhanced strength could do to his skull instead of the ground, dug his fingers into the open knife wound on Erron Black's shoulder. As the bounty hunter roared in pain, Izuku threw a punch towards Black's face, while also digging out one of his switchblades from Erron's shoulder. As Erron Black found himself being kicked into a nearby dais, Izuku capitalized on the opportunity by throwing himself shoulder-first onto Black's chest.
The dais cracked, and Black let out a shout of pain, but Izuku wasn't done. Izuku grabbed the bounty hunter's head and threw it onto the dais. The dais cracked again, but Izuku wasn't done. He began to punch Black in the face, over and over and over again, letting the rage of failing another person he cared for consume him.
Izuku roared, before bringing his fists to strike for perhaps what was the ninth strike on the hunter's face. As it landed, the dais shattered.
As the bounty hunter finally lay unconscious, Izuku breathed heavily. His rage not dissipated yet, he picked up Erron Black by the colar, before throwing him into another dais next to the bitch that had ambushed them.
P.O.V Switch - Kenshi
As Ermac's power began to shake the very ground of the Flesh Pits, Kenshi smiled.
The desire to seek greater opponents, greater challenge? It was in his blood. Shang Tsung had forced him to change his goals once the sorcerer had stolen the souls of his ancestors from Sento and left him blind, but that inner desire, even after all this time, had not gone away.
And by the way his ancestors were reacting in his head, they felt the same way.
As Kenshi ran and threw a slash towards Ermac's head, the monster used his soul energy to spin around, before throwing a slice of telekenetic energy at him.
Blocking it with Sento, Kenshi threw a stab, before following through with a backfist and a spinning round kick.
The kick was what ultimately caught Ermac, hitting him directly in the chest. As Ermac was disoriented, Kenshi stabbed forwards with Sento. Ermac tried to dodge Kenshi's next strike, but unfortunately caught a small nick on the back of his head.
Ermac shouted in pain once again, as Sento was further disrupting its connection between its body and the warrior souls it contained.
Ermac disappeared in a flash of green light, forcing Kenshi to try and search out with his senses to locate the monster. Kenshi suddendly began to hear cracks in the rocks around him.
He is going to bury you under an avalanche of rock! Stop him!
A plan began to form in Kenshi's head.
I think I know a way to stop him, but I need your help.
Reaching out with his senses, Kenshi let Sento escape his sheathe, allowing his ancestors to temporarily take back his blade.
With his ancestors doing the task he assigned them, Kenshi had to rely on his own senses, without his ancestors to support him. Taking a deep breath, Kenshi knelt, trying to feel the rhythm of his surroundings.
Suddenly, a rock tore itself free from its foundations. Kenshi, sensing the disruption, threw his hand out, unleashing a blast of telekinesis.
His blast found its mark, shattering the rock.
As Kenshi slowly walked around the Pits, looking for the next tell of Ermac's location, he felt another rock come his way. Tracing the disruption, Kenshi threw another blast of telekinesis, yet again shattering the rock.
However, on the third attempt, Ermac had realized his opponent's weakness and threw four rocks at the blind swordsman.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to destroy them all, Kenshi focused on the biggest disruption. Blowing it to pieces with his telekinesis, he manipulated the fragments of that rock, along with all the others he had destroyed, to form a rudimentary shield.
The shield held together against two rocks, but the last one proved too much for the barrier, as it hit Kenshi square in the chest.
Feeling a few of his ribs break from the impact, Kenshi fell to the floor. As he clutched his ribs, Ermac landed on the ground, seemingly relishing in his victory.
"You are alone. That is why you have failed."
Kenshi laughed, throwing a vicious smile towards the monster.
"That's the thing, monster. You see…"
At that moment, Sento burst from Ermac's stomach, as his ancestor's astral projection buried the blade from the monster's back.
"...I'm not alone, either."
Relishing in his victory, Kenshi began to dig Sento out of Ermac's back. As the monster knelt on the ground, Kenshi heard the words his ancestors whispered to him.
Repeat them to the monster, and he will be free of his chains.
Kenshi nodded. Looking at Ermac, Kenshi began to speak the words his ancestors told him to repeat.
As he spoke them, Ermac began to write and shake in pain. Reaching the final verses, Kenshi reached with his telekensis, holding Ermac in the air.
"You are free!" Kenshi roared.
As he shouted it to Ermac, Ermac began to shriek, as the souls of the warriors began to escape the monster's body. Ermac quickly rose into the air, before flying away, destroying several pieces of the roof of the Flesh Pits in his attempt to escape.
P.O.V Switch - Kung Lao
She's no joke. I wonder how the others are doing right now.
Just then, Erron Black crashed into a dais right next to Skarlet, shattering it into thousands of pieces. At the same time, several cracks opened up on the roof of the pit, allowing Ermac to fly out of the Flesh Pits, while he was shrieking in pain.
Kung Lao took a glance backward, and was rewarded by the sight of a battered and bruised Izuku clenching his switchblades, while an equally battered Kenshi stood to his right, holding onto Sento in a tight two-handed grip.
Skarlet, realizing that she was outnumbered, quickly teleported away with the bounty hunter.
As Kung Lao admired the sight of his opponents fleeing, he turned to the others.
"What took you guys so long?" he joked.
If looks could kill, Izuku and Kenshi's glare would've killed Kung Lao several times over.
AN: And here it is! Now that this chapter is done, let me get something out of the way real quick. The reason why I stopped mucking about rewriting everything, again and again, to push this chapter out.
Basically, don't expect to see another update to any of my stories for the next month. I have some new classes starting up this week, and I can already tell they're going to chew through what little free time I have left like a motherfucker. Doesn't help that one of them is Math, which is probably my weakest subject.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!