Translator
Rooftop Chase
It hadn't been more than half an hour since Copen went outside. Yet the sky was already moving from grey to dark as the early nights of winter form beneath the patio lamps outside. The stars were faint, almost invisible even with the moon's glow beaming through the clouds. Still those with keen eyes would occasionally notice two tiny figures jumping from rooftop to rooftop, one chasing while the other is running. Neither of them were bothered by the wind that whipped the skin from this height nor did a fear of falling stop them from taking jumps that even the traceurs wouldn't take.
"You know, most people would take a hint by now!" Xiao Wu hollered a taunt, one of many that the blue haired boy shot out as bullets and various techniques were dodged only by an inch of his hair.
Copen in response said nothing and intensified his jets for another dash, one that Wu ducked and rolled sideways to avoid before suddenly appearing at the other side of a building as the slayer bounced off a concrete wall and hit the spot where he previously was, before eyeing him with disdain. "I could say the same thing to you, stop warping around and hold still for a moment."
Xiao pulled a tongue at him as he jumped to another roof and continued running. Copen in turn summoned a blue portal that would redirect back to him in front of the boy the moment he was in the air again, only for him to WARP again to avoid the trap while Copen observed the phenomenon.
"It's not teleportation, but something more," Copen concluded, having observed and tested the repeat teleportations of his target. It wasn't super speed because then the air around the boy would move into sudden gusts, it wasn't messing with portals because Copen's visor showed that there were no seconds of preparation between the Septima's activation and the transportation. His target simply appeared several feet away with no warning whatsoever. The only signs left were quick breaths of exertion coming from the boy once he reappeared. As if he was holding his breath.
"Oh, no." the boy spoke up again, looking down of the edge of the last building he's on. The convenient trail of platforms ended when the rows of buildings is finally interrupted by the appearance of a busy main street. The distance was one too great to dare a jump over and to scale down would be giving his chaser the advantage as he does not need to worry about fall damage.
"End of the line." Copen stated as he firmly stood on the other side, gun drawn and ready. "Don't bother trying your trick again, I noticed it has a range between ten and twenty feet. Now give up."
"Fine, you got me." Xiao Wu let out a long sigh as he turned around. His face still holding a know it all smile as an emerald aura emanated from his body. What made Copen's eyes widen and his heart sink was that his opponent now had two katanas worn across his back, their long handle sticking up from their sheaths. Light was gleaming from his three watches as he put on a combat stance.
"Since I can't run away from you, that means the only option left is fighting, isn't it?" the prospect didn't seem to bother him too much which got Copen thinking. Was this his plan all along? Lead the slayer far away from the Café so they could handle their business here? If so, it was a poor plan.
Still, he went ahead and answered the rhetoric question, "You will do so at your own peril."
"Huh, I suppose so, but, if you don't mind. Mind answering one question of-"
"The one asking questions here is me, whether you need to be beaten for it is up to you."
"Hah! Are you sure about that? I'm not some one man army but my Septima is definitely one of a kind. And that's all I'll say about it, as for my question….well, I too can just slice it out of you!"
Warriors of West and North. The Swift against the Steady!
Xiao warped forward and struck his shoulder square into Copen's chest. As his evasion triggered, Xiao hunched down as he passed through him and let the momentum from his charge slide the two katanas out of their scabbards. His right hand crossed his body, and he drew the two simultaneously between his fingers.
He struck at Copen again in an upward, diagonal angle, the two blades clenched in his hands like they were a part of him. Copen made a parry with his gun for one sword while his other hand blocked the other. Xiao dissapeared the moment he tried to counter him, battle-forged instincts making him turn around and dodge a flurry of slashes that had no warning whatsoever. Green lines of energy trailed behind each strike, making Xiao's attacks look like the unhinged strikes of a berserker. Copen parried and dodged much of the offensive, but couldn't coordinate well enough to punish any opening he sees as he usually does. High pitched pings of steel and gunfire rang out across the rooftops, bringing out curious voices and new lights from the bedroom windows from the other buildings around them.
Xiao Wu was fast. Impossibly fast. Not a strong swordsman at all, but every attack was unwarned and came from bizarre angles. His arms swung down at Copen in rapid succession, the sword attacks too sudden and too numerous to figure out a way to counter. Copen shot out a trail of lightning to one hand down, then attempted a tagging charge forward so his weapons will automatically trail his opponent. The boy instead dissapeared again and with a lurch of his heart, Copen did a back-flip to dodge the shot of a gun that was placed right underneath his very chin.
The fact that there was even any power at all in Xiao's hits confused Copen. As far as he could tell he was up against a completely unorthodox fighting style. He noted how there shouldn't be any support in the Xiao held his swords within his knuckles. The boy's arm strength must be subpar due to his age so it was humanly impossible for the latter to harm him unless he had the time and space to gain a lot of speed and momentum on the fly thanks to the power of his Septima.
But what exactly is it? It's definitely one of a kind if it can just ignore one of the many rules most Septimas follow: That being that in order to do a grand attack, it's wielder needs time to charge it. And that for every time they use their septima, the signs of their life wave flare up in response.
It's not like Copen's losing conscientiousness at specific moments and his sense of time remains intact too so he couldn't have been hypnotized into believing his opponent has super speed.
Which means, there is only option left, it being that this one of a kind Septima can…
"You can stop time," Copen said. Filled with disgust, horror and frustration.
"Yep, you're right. And that makes it without a doubt one of the strongest Septimas." he confirmed. "I can stop space-time itself and freely act while it's stopped for a duration which I won't tell."
"A ridiculous ability, that one cannot predict or evade from…"
"Ayup, so, now that you know, will you back out or continue fighting an unwin-"
"But it must also have it's limitations. Namely that it also stops the flow of air, which is the reason you keep holding in your breath doesn't it? That and I suppose you can't just stab someone because everything you touch within stopped time starts to move as well. Is that a wrong assumption?"
"Please! Even if that were the case, there would still be nothing you could do against it." Xiao replied, the smile on his face twisting just a tiny inch, but Copen noticed the gesture all the same.
"Wrong." Copen bluntly responded, the lack of any falsehood enough to make Xiao pause for a moment, have his smile threaten to dissapear for a moment, before he lets out a disbelieving grunt.
"'There IS a way to defeat even Stopped Time.' Is that what you're about to say to me?"
"Not say, show you."
Copen's body shone in an effervescent white light as his combat pods (sans Lola) orbited around him, coming closer and closer as his power rises. Then he yelled out, his words reverberating across the building with a strange energy.
Golden stripes aglow with sin,
Silent hunters of demon and beasts,
Prowl again with stealth and grace.
An army to end my enemies.
INFINITY DOPPLER!
Part 2 coming soon! Also if you can come up with a cool septima name for time stop lemme know.