⁕ High Voltage (part 1)

With one hand holding his hat, McCree raised his head and watched as Jerry and Athena walked past him into the embrace of a strong wind. He was no knight but chose to fight for the cause which inspired the knights to act. On the left, Jerry walked without his cyberknight armour and broken cape on his back. He was a disgraced knight who betrayed his honour by walking a path of blind devotion. However, he was determined to go on one last ride to take his disgrace to hell with himself. Finally, on the right, Athena walked with her armour and helmet fully equipped and her shiny black cape floating in the air with the cyberknight symbol. She was one of the greatest knights and it was her duty to prove that she still deserves the title of a cyberknight. 

As Jerry and Athena arrived before the overground part of the Inverted Monolith, there was a brief silence as the two savoured their last moment of calm before the storm. 

[Jerry] - "So it has all come to this, huh? If you have any regrets, maybe it's time to voice them, comrade. "

Said Jerry as he placed his hand against the gigantic structure.

[Athena] - "I don't regret fighting for the legacy of our master, Jerry. He made us who we are today; Some of the finest cyberknights the Empire can offer. "

[Jerry] - "Please forget about me if you manage to make it out alive, alright? My legacy is one not worth remembering. Promise me this. This last ride, I'm taking it straight to hell where I can finally pay for my sins. "

[Athena] - "If you wish to erase yourself from history, then I'll respect your choice. However, what you do here today will send a ripple through the future. You simply can't be forgotten if your final act is to ride into the fire of battle. "

[Jerry] - "Then tell the world, Jerry died a while ago. Credit my actions today to my brother Harry. Let the world know Harry wasn't a disgraced knight as I am. "

Said Jerry in a peaceful voice as he stared at Athena over his shoulder.

Athena nodded her head to confirm her acknowledgement of Jerry's wishes. After being assured by Athena, Jerry turned to face the massive wall before him.

[Athena] - "Jerry, before we start, do you have any regret of your own you want to share? "

[Jerry] - "Athena, Jagger knew we were coming, right? So the men inside this structure should all be his most loyal soldiers without exception, right? "

Upon understanding the hidden meaning behind Jerry's words, Athena closed her eyes and took a few steps back. 

[Athena] - "You may break your chains, Jerry. Those people chose to be there because they believed in Jagger's lies. "

[Jerry] - "Then I have no regret. Echoing Verdict: Holmes' Murder Castle! "

Said Jerry in a cold voice.

This time, without restriction, Jerry unleashed the full power of his ability. All within the Inverted Monolith, as if the walls all grew eyes and consciousness, Jerry could suddenly see everything anywhere. 

[Jerry] - "She's 10 kilometres down toward the tip of the Inverted Monolith. You will be able to spot her right away once you go down there. "

Athena saluted Jerry with a stern look in her eyes before she reached her hands forward. 

[Athena] - "Farewell, comrade. May you find peace in your actions. Guilt Extension: Thunderstorm Above Mount Olympus! "

In an instant, Athena disappeared underground as one of the giant arms smashed a hole through the soil. Meanwhile, with a single flick of his finger, Jerry broke the Inverted Monolith into a million pieces. Men yelled as they fell through the gaps to their deaths while Dunhill barely hung on to his life by staying away from the edges. As Jagger looked up, he immediately spotted Athena descending toward the top of the Inverted Monolith. 

[Jagger] - "Looks like you little shits had finally decided to come. "

With one jump, Jagger dashed at Athena before smashing her face with a punch. However, as the dust cleared, Athena simply stared at Jagger with an unimpressed look in her eyes. Jagger gasped as he realized that he hadn't even inflicted a scratch against his opponent. 

[Athena] - "Mike would've killed me with this punch but you... "

Before Jagger could react, one of Athena's conjured arms sent him crashing into the ground city with immense force. 

[Athena] - "...Are nothing but a cheap imitation of his power. "

With a deafening boom, Jagger emerged from the ground before extending his hand. 

[Jagger] - "Echoing Verdict: Blade of Pandemonium! "

In an instant, a powerful slashing motion punched through all the obstacles and hit Athena directly. Jagger didn't care if his attack killed many of his soldiers and men in the process as he amplified the attack by the power of 1200 every second. Suddenly, a row of dissected structures collapsed onto Jagger and crushed him under the weight of a few hundred tonnes of reinforced cement. 

[Jerry] - "Jaggeeeer! Your opponent is me! "

Screamed Jerry as he descended from the sky. 

With a swipe of his hand, Jerry collapsed a monstrous pillar onto Jagger before using his ability to command another pillar to crash into Jagger from below. 

[Jerry] - "Focus on the rescue, leave the fucking fighting to me! "

Ordered Jerry from afar. 

With a nod, Athena continued downward where Jerry intentionally kept the level where Kadyn was untouched. As Athena crashed into the hallways of the level, armed soldiers began firing on her. As bullets ricocheted off her body, Athena raised her hands as electricity began to leak out of her eyes. 

[Athena] - "Guilt Extension: Divine Violation! "

As the electric arrow flew through the hallway, each soldier was instantly fried to charcoals by the escaping current from this single projectile. Without any more obstacles, Athena reached Kadyn's cell where four Blue Guards awaited her. 

[Athena] - "Alright, boys, we can do this the easy way or the grim way. "

Said Athena as she stepped closer toward the Blue Guards. 

[Blue Guard 1] - "Stand together! We are four against one! "

[Athena] - "By the time I reach your location, if any of you decides to block my path, then I'll send you to your mother in a cinder jar excluding the delivery fee. "

The composure of a few Blue Guards began to break as Athena stepped closer. To show her destructive potential, Athena pulled a screw from her pocket and began to scrape it against the wall as she advanced. The passing electricity from her hand through the screw instantly turned it into molten metal and the heat was enough to vaporize it before a single drop reached the ground. 

At that moment, one of the Blue Guards immediately turned to flee through the hallway but was abruptly gunned down by the team leader. 

[Blue Guard leader] - "Coward! Stand and fight! "

As Athena arrived before the leader, the two other Blue Guards discreetly began to slip aside, away from Athena. With one determined yell, the leader activated his crystals and slapped Athena in the face. In a powerful shock, the ability caused the environment around Athena to shift right like a paste but she wasn't even phased by the attack. 

[Athena] - "I just realized this; You are exactly the same height as me, how convenient. "

Said Athena in a cold voice before abruptly grabbing the Blue Guard by the neck. 

Inside the room, the darkness was suddenly illuminated by a bright flash in the form of a man on the thick steel door. Suddenly, the light from the hallway penetrated into the room alongside Athena's hand which was holding nothing in its grasp. As the red-hot metal creaked and bent, Athena stepped through the man-shaped cavity she burned through the door using her enemy's body. 

[Athena] - "Well, look who's... "

Said Athena before she abruptly realized Kadyn's comatose state. 

[Athena] - "Ah, for fuck's sake! "

Yelled Athena in frustration.

As much as she wanted to carry Kadyn out of the room in her comatose state, she couldn't possibly also keep the respiratory machine, nutriment injection and other life support essentials running on the way. With a frustrated grunt, Athena pulled a pair of syringes out of her purse and jabbed them into Kadyn's neck. Slowly, the flumazenil and adrenaline began to circulate inside Kadyn's blood. 

[Athena] - "You better wake the fuck up soon, you sleeping ugly! "

Meanwhile, Jagger slashed himself free from Jerry's attacks using his technique. Just as Jagger had the chance to take one breath, another piece of the Inverted Monolith crashed into his face. 

[Jagger] - "AAAARGH! Echoing Verdict: Blade of Pandemonium! "

Screamed Jagger in frustration.

Within three seconds, no more intact piece of building was capable of approaching Jagger as anything that came close to him was instantly slashed into pebbles by his technique. 

[Jagger] - "This body used to belong to Mike once, you fool! I know all the tricks you had up in your sleeve, Jerry! "

[Jerry] - "And so do I, Jagger! Mike was my master once too, you dipshit! Guilt Extension: Entity 13! "

Before Jagger could react, a sudden burning sensation spread across his cheek as he was punched by an invisible force. As Jagger looked up, he could only see his slashes being blocked by a human shape floating before him. As Entity 13 blocked Jagger's technique, Jerry directed a large pillar behind Entity 13 which protected the projectile from Jagger's slashes. As Jagger attempted to escape, the sudden break in his focus cancelled his technique's active effect, causing Jerry's other projectiles to crash into him and pin him down.

[Jerry] - "This is for Harry, you son of a bitch! "

Yelled Jerry as he attacked Jagger while the flame of vengeance burned in his eyes.

As more and more debris pilled onto Jagger, an explosion suddenly destroyed the ball of building pieces around him. 

[Jagger] - "Echoing Verdict: Fuji's Awakening! "

Due to the heat, Jagger was immediately able to detect Entity 13's distinct shape like a glass statue in the heat wave. As Jagger reached forward to grab the entity, Jerry quickly disengaged his ability and recalled it back to him. 

[Jagger] - "Playtime's over! If you thought you could defeat me even your puny abilities, then you must be dreaming! Jerry, even Mike knew how much of a disappointment you are. Unlike Athena, you don't even have an Existential Judgement type ability. Hahaha, the shame! "

Mocked Jagger as he stared up at Jerry.

Jerry gritted his teeth in anger as he stared at Jagger but he knew he must not give in to his provocations. Slowly, he used Entity 13 as a lift to propel himself to a higher ground than Jagger.

[Jagger] - "For all this time, I've been letting you waste your strength throwing useless attacks at me. However, I think it's time now we reverse the role of this fight a little, considering I'm done having fun with you! "

Said Jagger as he raised his fingers at Jerry. 

[Jagger] - "Guilt Extension: Blade of Pandemonium! "

With a quick reaction, Jerry used Entity 13 to block Jagger's initial strike before jumping into a shower of falling structures. As Jerry phased through a piece of falling wall, the loss of visual contact no longer allowed Jagger to keep his attack on his opponent. 

[Jagger] - "Heh! No matter, I'll just have to find you then. Guilt Extension: Staff of The Monkey King! "

With a single swing of his arm, a sky-shattering strike manifested under Jagger's command and obliterated a row of floating structures from the deconstructed Inverted Monolith. As Jerry struck back by directing more blocks of building toward Jagger, they were immediately intercepted by the combined strength of Blade of Pandemonium and Fuji's Awakening. Even when Entity 13 tried to approach Jagger, he became aware enough to immediately expect its presence and defend against it. The tide of battle was turning but Jerry had no intention of giving up as he relocated through the debris field while dodging Jagger's strikes. 

After a long struggle, exhaustion finally caught up to Jerry as he tripped and fell while trying to leap toward another structure. Luckily, Entity 13 quickly jumped in and caught him in the air. As Jerry regained his sense of direction, he noticed to his horror that was he on equal ground with Jagger. With a swipe of his hand, Jerry called upon another piece of the Inverted Monolith to smash onto Jagger. However, Jagger confidently walked out of the cloud of dust unharmed toward Jerry. With a frustrated grunt, Jerry jumped down from Entity 13's hold and directed more attacks at Jagger. 

[Jagger] - "How unfortunate. The difference between you and me is the finite nature of your ability and the infinite potential of my techniques. "

Said Jagger in a mocking tone.

Instead of another large pillar or structure, only small pieces of broken concrete and wall descended upon Jagger which shattered into dust upon making contact with him. At that moment, Jerry realized to his horror that he had run out of structure to hurl at Jagger with. The Inverted Monolith, massive as it might be, was in the end a building of finite size. 

[Jagger] - "Look at your friend Athena down there, still trying to wake Kadyn up. You thought I would be so stupid to keep Kadyn here for you two to come and rescue her? She didn't know that I had made sure she would never wake up by causing her severe brain damage. "

Said Jagger with a sadistic smile. 

The colour on Jerry's face dropped as a chill ran down his spine. 

[Jagger] - "That's right, I made Kadyn brain dead. I made sure that little bitch can never be anything more than a sex toy for my pleasure. She's nothing more than a pile of worthless flesh forever resting on that coffin of a bed she's sleeping on. Try to move her out of her bed and her useless body would squirm and die like a fish out of the water. "

Said Jagger as he delighted in pleasure from Jerry's shock.

The sheer amount of cruelty on display broke Jerry as blood rushed into his fists and eyes. 

[Jerry] - "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU, JAGGER? "

Yelled Jerry with raw hatred in his voice. 

[Jagger] - "I am the God Mike could've been if he wasn't such a wimp. That woman which he used his life to protect was so insignificant, I killed her by simply snapping my fingers. "

As rage burned through Jerry's body, he glanced at the buildings below him and prepared to dive down to reach them. However, as he tried to do so, he realized that there was an invisible barrier which prevented him from going down. 

[Jagger] - "Like I said, playtime is over. "

In a fit of rage, Jerry charged toward Jagger and tried to strike him with Entity 13 but abruptly felt a blunt force on his left side. As he collapsed to the ground, he noticed that Entity 13 was holding against an invisible force trying to crush him. With a swing of his hand, Jagger directed Staff of The Monkey King to strike Jerry from the top but Entity 13 stood defiant as he protected Jerry from the strike. 

[Jerry] - "What are you doing? Attack that mother fucker! Don't mind me! "

Yelled Jerry at his ability. 

In a pushing motion, Jagger then abruptly pinned Entity 13 against the wall using his technique before Jerry recalled him. 

[Jerry] - "Entity 13, strike him down! Attack him! "

However, as Jagger lifted his hand and bore his technique down onto Jerry, Entity 13 again defied its master's orders and used its invincible body to defend him. 

[Jerry] - "AAAAHHH! Entity 13, you are my ability, I order you to attack that bastard Jagger! "

Yelled Jerry as he stood up while holding his wounded ribcage. 

[Jagger] - "Hahahaha! Look at this, even your ability refused to listen to you. How pathetic! "

Mocked Jagger cruelly.

[Jerry] - "Oyyy! You little shit! Listen to my command! "

Screamed Jerry as he grabbed Entity 13 by the shoulders and shook him. 

However, the ability didn't react as it raised its head and stared at Jerry despite it not having eyes. Without hesitation, it reached out and hugged Jerry and shielded him from Jagger's Fuji's Awakening. Soon after the attack was over, Jerry pushed Entity 13 away from him before striking it in the chest with his fist. 

[Jerry] - "No, no, you can't do this to me! I don't deserve your loyalty for all I've done! You should be attacking Jagger and not be protecting me. I don't matter, so stop this! "

Cried Jerry in despair as he pressed his head against Entity 13. 

[Jagger] - "You think you've known despair. However, what do you think will happen once you die, Jerry? True despair is when I kill Athena and keep Kadyn as my prisoner for the rest of time. "

Said Jagger in a cold and unapologetic tone. 

[Jerry] - "Attack him, I beg of you, brother! "

Whispered Jerry in tears as he slowly slipped to his knees against Entity 13. 

[Jagger] - "Heh! As for you, despair is when even you can't protect him. The reason why Mike had such an edge over all of you is because of his adaptivity. No matter the situation, he will always have an answer for it. For this whole fight, you've managed to escape all iterations of my Blade of Pandemonium. However, I shall feel satisfaction in your defeat even against this ability which seemed to have no effect against you. "

In fear and panic, Jerry leaped against the barrier below his feet while Entity 13 followed to protect him. 

[Jerry] - "Athena! Run! We can't win against him! "

Yelled Jerry in desperation.

[Jagger] - "Echoing Verdict: Jigsaw of Pandemonium! "

Using the endless possibilities accessible through Mike's ability, Jagger developed an adapted version of Mike's previous Blade of Pandemonium. In Jigsaw of Pandemonium, Jagger bypassed the gradual build-up required to achieve the raw destructive power in the original technique and imposed a constant ratio of 10,000 vertical cuts and 20,000 horizontal cuts. On top of this, instead of expanding the attack outward or inward, Jagger defined the strikes as spontaneous conjures on their respective vector.

In an instant, Entity 13's body cracked as pieces of its face fell onto its palm. As the entity turned around, it dropped the pieces in its hands as it knew immediately what happened to Jerry. Before Entity 13 could touch its master, Jerry's body abruptly collapsed onto the ground as a fine bloody mist. In anger, Entity 13 turned around and charged toward Jagger but its body began to collapse as its feet broke apart followed by his abdomen. Despite this, the entity crawled toward Jagger with its two hands, then one hand until it arrived before Jagger's feet. 

It looked up as Jagger showed a despicable grin, mocking the entity for its effort. As Entity 13 reached for its opponent's leg, Jagger simply kicked it in the face and sent its head rolling away. However, the entity, in its last moments of consciousness, noticed Kadyn ascending toward the sky behind Jagger not on her back or as a ghost but standing on Athena's ability as a fully functioning person. If it could shed a tear, it would've cried a river at that moment. 

As Athena broke through the barrier, she immediately noticed what remained of Jerry in front of Jagger. 

[Athena] - "Jerry... "

Said Athena with a pained expression on her face. 

As a gesture to honour her fallen comrade, Athena raised her fist in the air and stared at the daylight through the hole where the Inverted Monolith used to be. 

[Athena] - "Knows this, comrade, you thought you were simply digging your path to hell but you ended up opening a path for all to see heaven. All this is you, Jerry, not Harry or anyone else. "

Whispered Athena as she held back tears.

[Jagger] - "Mph! Well too bad he's too dead to hear your bullshit! "

However, Jerry did hear it. Despite how Jagger believed that Jerry died in despair thinking the mission had failed and all was for nothing, Entity 13's head saw the success of the mission and heard Athena's acknowledgement of his contribution before it vanished. An ability is linked to the essence of a person. Entity 13 persisted momentarily beyond the death of its user because Jerry believed in justice and refused to accept the reality presented to him by Jagger. Despite his disgrace, Jerry demonstrated how his heart was ultimately still that of a knight.

To be continued...