I caught up with the running group pretty fast, some still managed to keep ahead, but most of them were cheating even more then I was. Movers, parahumans with superhuman speed.

Did I qualify for that now I wondered? I was fast, very fast, I'd been crippled as a mortal, I could walk, but could not run. Not freely anyway.

My body now ran at the very edge of performance for a human of the land of Creation. Olympian level or even a little beyond it, at least in terms of speed. But humans in creation weren't exactly normal either. They could jump further, run harder, do impossible things in the right circumstance. Even beyond what a human body normally could do when the stress hit and limiters of biology fell away. Creation's nature made the impossible possible.

And as one who now harbored the essence of the beings who had crafted that reality, I was now similarly unrestricted.

I didn't hold back when I hit the main body of those heading to the ambush point. It would have been smarter but not...proper.

I had the essence of the Yozi in me. Their power, their nature. By playing to their rules, emulating their actions, I could tap into that power even more.

And Malfeas did not hold back against his foes. He didn't hide, outmaneuver or deceive those who had earned his ire. He smashed right through them with overwhelming power.

Which is why when I had attacked the Simurgh the first time it had been a straightforward assault with every mote of power I could commit to injecting raw pain into her supposedly indestructible self.

Trying to cut her off like this wasn't the absolute most direct way to pursue her once she'd fled, but it was the most direct I could manage with our relative speed.

I was gambling by taking the option. If it wasn't direct enough I couldn't channel panel through the excellency of Malfeas and would be limited to a 'mundane' degree of skill. And even if that was at a level only by the barest margins considered possible to humans to achieve, from how tough she was, how intricate her defense and overwhelming her power, it probably was not enough.

Even if it was, I didn't have much of an opening. With my current reserves I could launch maybe one more attack, another slightly weaker one after that if I was willing to forgo a reserve left to assure my escape from her inevitable counter.

It was hard to be the bold unstoppable monster when standing before something even more monstrous.

But I had to try. I could hurt her. I had made her flinch. I had made her run, and precious few could lay claim to such a feat.

I would fight, I would strike, I would commit everything and if I died, that sucked but I'd live a king, or die a hero.

An Exalted, regardless of type could not bare the shame of being anything less.

~This sort of inner monologue thing isn't going to be a regular thing is it?~

...

~It is isn't it?~

I might have been waxing on my situation a bit much for a situation basically summed up as 'I went to the place and waited to go punch the evil bird lady'.

~Ligier's Radiance scour me...~

So I arrived at the spot, stopping where I saw others.

I was told there was another arm band waiting for me. It's ability let me coordinate with the others would be useful but a good vantage point would be more so. I was looking fast for some place I could use to easily approach an enemy like The Simurgh.

Height was important, she was two and a half times taller then me after all, and while attacking her knee or pelvis would be a viable strategy, the head and neck would be more ideal for a flying opponent. Even if her 'vitals' were something vastly different from what you would expect of a humanoids.

~Well this is a useful monologue at least. Be careful about that though-~

There was always the hazard of becoming 'boxed in' on a rooftop however. I could jump the difference between a one story difference in height easily and still move roof to roof, but some buildings were taller then that in relative height, and there was no point in gaining the height to attack a good spot if I couldn't cross the horizontal distance to her quick enough to make use of it.

"Malfean!?" Boomed out a voice with surprising projection.

I looked in that direction while roaring out "Here!"

In a moment someone flickered into view. There had been a sort of half moment where their presence seemed to be cut out of the air before they suddenly filled it, "Here's your new com unit. Try not to break this one," he shoved it into my hands, then before I could as much as ask if his ability would let him warp me to the roof he vanished with a whip crack sound.

Man no one had any time for politeness did they?

I ripped the defective arm band off and slid on the new one, touching it and repeating "Malfean," in a half irritated growl as I continued looking for a good vantage point.

However before I could do so a meter struck three feet in front of me.

I twisted ready to face an attack only to see someone fly back out of the impact crater, and back towards...

Her.

The Simurgh was slowing being driven towards us. With Leviathan or Behemoth, they might have baited to approach, but for the terrible creature that represented Ziz of the trio the only option was blunt force. A crossfire of beams, blasts, waves and other effects crashed not into the Endbringer herself but around her, annihilating her shroud of shrapnel while figures crashed into the massive telekinetic directly crashing into her and dragging her bodily towards us.

It shouldn't have worked. Even if they broke apart her ammunition that just gave her more numerous smaller projectiles so why...

Except it didn't. I could see it now, as the large objects were broken apart the small ones vanished, falling away into nowhere. Some other power in play maybe?

I tried to spot the largest item vanishing but it was a hard thing to grasp in the chaos of the scene, much less at distance. At least one object the size of a breadbox needed to be shot again before it faded.

More groups were joining in on the violence from both sides. I had no idea why she didn't simply try to flee above but guessed there was another power at work. Either way she was quickly accumulating more annoyances then she could kill directly.

My anticipation began to boil up, and for some reason I found it hard to just stand and wait in the face of my adversary being driven right into my waiting arms.

It was then that I noticed that my armband was talking again, "-Advised all small objects will be removed from the combat area regardless of mass or inertia. Ranged support is to prioritize the reduction of The Simurgh's controlled projectiles. Melee combatants are to attempt to direct her to the coastline-"

That was all I needed to hear.

I charged.