CHAPTER 45: VOID CITY PART 2

Yutsu stands a few feet away from Zeph and Mausho with a stern expression.

Zeph: It's you again.

Yutsu: Are you gonna give him back?

Mausho: Hell no!

Mausho grabs Rinka out of the monster's mouth, Yutsu emits a sigh, his hand falls out of his pockets, and one of his palms, he holds up.

Zeph: Better not run away this time.

Out of Yutsu's palm comes several rapid sharp metal rods that curve towards Mausho. The rods slash some of his shoulder as he jumps away.

Yutsu: I'm not going to.

Zeph's monster speeds over to Yutsu, more metal rises out of the ground and impales the monster, lifting it into the air.

Mausho adjusts Rinka onto his shoulder.

Mausho: Do I keep holding this guy or can I put him down?

Zeph: Hold him, we can't leave him unattended.

They dodge more metal.

Mausho: I can't fight while carrying this guy!

Zeph: That's okay, I've got this.

Zeph weaves around a bunch of metal being summoned by both of Yutsu's palms. He finally reaches Yutsu and throws a punch, the metal on Yutsu's left palm falls and he strikes Zeph in the face.

As Zeph stumbles back, metal instantly rushes out of the palm again. He quickly jumps away from it but the metal follows. Zeph's monster is summoned again, it attempts to break the metal by crushing it but to its surprise the metal curves and shreds through its skin, once again killing it.

The monster dissipates, Mausho abruptly appears where it was and touches the metal under him with electricity.

Mausho: I'm still gonna try to support you!

Zeph: Okay!

The electricity surges through the metal and shocks Yutsu, whose face is unchanging. Mausho begins to run up his metal, and that's when Yutsu, abruptly out of his hand, releases electricity that spreads over Mausho, causing him to cry out, slip, and drop Rinka.

He kneels on the ground and swiftly grabs Rinka then stands up. The shock left wounds and burns all over his body.

"He's got electricity too… It might even be stronger than mine."

Zeph hops onto the metal, a monster similar to the one Zeph creates but with different eyes quickly flies out of Yutsu, its mouth wide open.

Zeph dashes out of its way, lands, and chases after him.

"He must have a Skill that copies others."

The metal on Yutsu's hands detaches as he looks over to Mausho, who adjusts Rinka again. He runs towards him and Mausho sprints away.

"It's hard to do anything without dropping this dude."

Zeph's monster is summoned and it bites down on the neck of the one made by Yutsu, killing it. Zeph glances over to Mausho and spots him exchanging electric attacks with Yutsu.

Mausho swings his leg up, fire bursts out of it, Yutsu jumps back before he can be burnt. More metal comes out of his palm but this time instead of the rods being close to each other, they are more separate and crooked.

Zeph appears nearby, his monster rushes out and Yutsu hops onto its head. Where he quickly stabs its brain then falls. His own creature appears but it dashes to Mausho instead of Zeph.

Mausho doesn't move, he stares casually at the creature. Zeph bolts towards Yutsu, the monster fades away and quickly reappears right in front of him. Instead of its mouth being open though, its head is down.

Yutsu places his hand on its head, electricity surges over its skin to the monster's head. Zeph dashes back expecting the monster to open its mouth and bite but instead, it rushes forward.

It slams its head bursting with electricity into Zeph. He's electrified and flies towards a building.

…

Yutsu has 4 skills.

Skill 1, the ability to communicate with Kamus.

Skill 2, he can copy others' skills if he knows their true names. The copied skill will be stronger, and more advanced than the original, and will only be able to be used for a few minutes, after that he must copy it again.

Skill 3, he can create a portal.

Skill 4, he can create metal rods.

…

Zeph stands, his hair and clothes are messed up and horrid-looking wounds from the electricity are all over him.

…

Zeph has one skill, it allows him to create monsters based on traumatic experiences in his life.

The only monster he creates is a giant dead-looking lizard, it will bite and destroy anything in its way. Zeph is also able to make it so he can or can't touch it, which causes the illusion of him standing within/phasing through his monster.

…

Yutsu's monster heads to Mausho and his rods catch on fire, they scratch against the floor as he walks, producing a sharp sound.

Mausho jumps onto the monster and runs down it, Yutsu lifts his rods and swings them like a sword.

Mausho jumps over the attempts to hit him, the monster under him fades away and he falls. Then it reappears above him, it falls towards him with its mouth wide open and Mausho dashes out of its way.

It hits the ground and disappears again, revealing Yutsu's rods hidden behind it, they slam into Mausho, he rolls on the ground and hits some rubble.

Yutsu's rods grow and Zeph's monster suddenly bites down on them. He quickly retracts the rods, the monster falls and spits out Zeph from its mouth.

Zeph flies towards Yutsu and right as he's about to crash into him, a portal emerges in front of him and he heads into it, then it ceases to exist.

Mausho gets up, he adjusts Rinka again.

Yutsu turns and shoots a single rod from his palm, the portal reemerges right in front of his rushing rod and Zeph flies out of it. The rod stabs through his stomach.

"What the hell!?"

Another rod promptly comes out and stabs the left side of his chest.

"The metal is coming out faster now. Insanely fast."

Yutsu: Give me the guy back.

Zeph's monster rushes out of him, Yutsu's monster does the same but now it is much, much larger than Zeph's, it bites down and tears Zeph's monster's head and the metal pinning Zeph in place.

Zeph pulls the 2 torn rods out of him and dashes back, he prepares to attack but hesitates.

"I have a horrible feeling of uneasiness."

Mausho runs to Yutsu and has his knee quickly impaled by a rod, he stumbles and grabs the knee, blood spills onto his hand, and Rinka slips off his shoulder a little.

"That was so fast! The fuck!?"

Yutsu: Just give the dude back.

Zeph still cannot force himself to budge, he looks over to Mausho who is attempting to pull the rod out, they stare at each other, both of their eyes filled with uneasiness.

Mausho: We should get out of here, dude!

Zeph gets angry.

Zeph: I… I refuse!

He dashes, Yutsu appears in front of him and punches him in the face, blood blasts out of it. Zeph is sent far away.

…

In the void…

Nunda blocks a kick from Iwo and dodges a punch from Rinka and Sumairu. He grabs Imma-Ite by his collar and heaves him into Iwo.

Nunda: Downright horrible! These are your allies, Rinka!?

Nunda fakes out Sumairu and punches his jaw, Rinka blocks another attack from him.

Iwo: I'm not gonna lie, I feel weaker down here, like I'm drowsy!

Rinka and Nunda trade attacks and blocks, with Nunda landing the most successful hits. Sumairu attempts to join in but he's quickly decked by Nunda.

Sumairu: You too? I thought it was just me. It feels like I can't process what attacks even are.

Nunda hits Rinka in the stomach which pushes him away, Iwo goes in for another kick, and Nunda blocks it again.

Imma-Ite: Oh, I didn't question the feeling, does that mean I think I'm weak?

Nunda chuckles, he jumps away from everyone.

Nunda: People aren't meant to fight down here, only void users retain their battle capabilities down here, you are all fodder!-

-Rinka here is the only one realistically and actually able to beat me, but he never will, he's not capable of it! He's a little, weak piece of shit!

Rinka sprints to Nunda.

Rinka: Ignore this guy, just keep fighting, do as much as you can!

Everyone else sprints, Nunda turns his attention away from them.

"... You gotta be fucking kidding me."

A girl with black hair wearing a dirty dark gray kimono and a messed up straw hat, swings for a kick.

Rinka and others stop and stare, astonished.

Nunda grabs her leg and she speedily lifts her other, crossing it over his arm and pulling him down.

She kicks upwards, under his chin and he's thrown back, Nunda quickly rises.

"The hell are you up to now!? I sensed some fighting!"

Nunda: Get the fuck out of here!

Imma-Ite pokes Rinka's back, he turns.

Imma-Ite: Who is that?

Rinka: I don't know.

The girl and Nunda attack each other, after a few seconds of boxing, she glances over to Rinka and everyone else.

"Hey, jóvenes, ¡come help me!'

Imma-Ite: Who is hoebenis?

Rinka: She's asking for our help, c'mon.

The girl catches a punch while Rinka and the others arrive, she kicks Nunda and he blocks it.

"So who's your victim now?"

The girl and Nunda attack each other more.

Nunda: Same kid from back then! I found him again and this time I'm not gonna let you stop me.

"The same kid? En serió?"

Rinka attacks, Nunda blocks, the girl kicks, he blocks, Sumairu attacks, he ducks down and lunges forward, the girl dynamically swings her leg up and smacks his neck.

The hit in the neck was enough to discombobulate Nunda, and for the few seconds that he was like that, Rinka and everyone else gave him a merciless beating until he fainted.

Imma-Ite: Hey! We beat him!

Iwo: Awesome.

Sumairu: It felt good to beat him!

Nunda is lying on his stomach, slumped. Rinka walks up to the girl, she looks at him.

Rinka: Thank you for helping us!

"You're welcome."

She lifts her hand and pats his head.

"You've grown!"

Rinka stares in silence.

"Ah, right, you don't know who I am… Do you remember the first time you ever got attacked by this guy?"

Rinka: Not really.

"Well, I'm the one who kicked him out of your body!"

…

It is nighttime in the Rinka household, his mother is in the restroom brushing her teeth, his sister attempting to fall asleep, and his father is asleep.

Rinka is in his bed, lightly hugging a pillow, within the void, his soul is wandering.

"What the fuck is this place?"

Nunda finds him.

Nunda: Hey, kid. What are you doing down here?

Rinka: I don't know… I'm lost.

Nunda walks up to Rinka and punches him in the throat, he collapses.

Nunda: I'm gonna be alive again!

Nunda giggles, Rinka feels his neck, his attempts to talk are all scratchy and he faintly sobs.

Nunda looks up, closes his eyes, and a few seconds later, floats up.

Rinka rises from his bed, leering at his sister. He jumps to her bed and her eyes open. Then he begins to punch her repeatedly, as hard as he can.

Loud agonizing cries echo throughout the house, with each punch she receives, the sound becomes quieter, more distorted. Blood paints Rinka's fists, his mom rushes out of the restroom.

Upon seeing her 6-year-old daughter's mutilated face and the bringer of this beating, being her son. She is unable to process any single thought or emotion.

Rinka grins at her and dashes, he pulls her head and slams her into the restroom where she hits the ground.

Rinka hits her over and over again, she's angry and crying while attempting to fight back.

Rinka begins to strangle her, she yanks onto his clothes, that's when Rinka's father runs into the restroom holding a knife.

Rinka quickly turns around, letting go of his mom, the dad attacks, mom rises and screams.

"Notoso! No! He's still our son!"

"That's not our fucking son!"

Rinka leaps over the knife and the arm holding it, he hits his dad in the face, knocking him down.

The knife falls and Rinka grabs it, quickly using it to stab his father's hip. Mom grabs a cup full of toothbrushes and bashes it against Rinka's head. He turns and uppercuts her.

Rinka pulls the knife out and stabs his father's neck, blood seeps from his mouth. Mom cries out and smacks Rinka persistently, but her hits are nothing to him.

He pulls the knife out of the neck and slowly turns to her, the hits still not affecting him. His mother changes from being belligerent to succumbing to the devastating truth of the situation.

She is most likely going to die.

Rinka quickly stabs her chest and pushes her down.

"Rinba."

Exhaustion, spewing, and overflowing blood is slurring her words.

"Het out. "

Rinka stands and pulls his mom by the hair, he sets her up against the wall then squats down and gently slaps her skin with the knife.

"Het out puf my smuns boye."

Rinka chuckles and slowly cuts a small layer of skin on his mother's arm.

"Peas."

Nunda feels something within him, he quickly stabs Mom's throat and focuses on the void where he blocks an attack.

The girl in the straw hat had kicked him.

Nunda: Who the hell are you?

"What do you think you're doing? Why did you take this kid's body?"

Nunda: Why do you care?

"Because you shouldn't be doing this, pendejo!"

Nunda: I'm gonna live my life again! Get the fuck out of here!

"I'm not gonna let you take this kid's body."

Nunda chuckles and playfully attacks, the girl dodges and quickly kicks him in the face, his smugness melts into anger.

"Pinche baboso, malparido, mamaguebo, pendejo, hijo de puta, imbécil, zorra, coño, tarado."

Nunda: What?

Before they attack each other, Rinka levitates up and is sent back into his body.

Rinka: That kid is not going to like what he sees up there, you shouldn't have sent him up.

"Ya cállate."

Nunda: ….What are you saying!?

The first thing that Rinka sees when he repossesses his body is his dead, blood-ridden, mother, sprawled on the floor.

He's expressionless, unsure, trembling, filled with anxiety, struggling to breathe, and unable to process the situation.

A few seconds later, it is nothing but complete distress and sorrow.

Back in the void, the girl and Nunda fight for a few minutes until eventually she kicks Nunda so hard, he backs away from the battle.

Nunda: You're strong.

"I know."

Nunda lets out a long deep breath.

Nunda: I'll leave the kid alone… But I'll let you know, you were too late to help him! I went into his body and killed his family!

The girl is not amused.

"Just go."

Nunda gives her a thumbs up and runs off into the darkness, she watches him disappear then she brings Rinka back down into the void.

"Hey, joven."

Rinka looks up at her, tears pouring from his face. Her eyes widened.

"... Sorry."

She nervously sends him back up and runs away.

…

"... That's what happened."

Rinka: Wow.

"... I'm sorry, I didn't get to you sooner."

She looks at the floor.

Rinka: It's okay, thank you… If you didn't get him out of my body, worse things could have happened.

She looks up and smiles.

…

This girl is Mazu and was born in a Spanish-speaking, semi-poor rural area where houses were made of stone and logs, some though, had walls of thick sticks and a cloth roof.

Mazu used the void to create tools she could not afford, to help her work and gain enough money to afford food and buy medicine for her only living relative, her sick grandma, who she resided with.

With her skill "The Void" she made axes to help her cut trees, shovels to help dig, a hoe to help with soil, and with 2 of each tool, she felt as if she could do everything faster.

One day, she hurt her knee and many noticed that she possessed black blood, blood that was rumored to make those who drank it stronger, blessed, and more successful. Info on Mazu and her blood spread all over the area.

She got the idea to sell her blood to people and many bought it, she didn't have to work for days.

One night, Mazu was sleeping peacefully on a hammock when she suddenly woke up to the sounds of noisy crumbling. She jolted up, her house was on fire, and smoke was everywhere.

She coughed violently and stood up, urgently searching for her grandma, who she found at the bottom of some small stairs with a broken leg and extremely burnt.

She runs out of the house, a well-dressed man and some of her neighbors hidden behind him and a red car stare at her.

"Esa es la mujer con la sangre negra, correcto?" (That's the woman with the black blood, correct?)

"Si." (Yes)

Most of the neighbors nod their heads for confirmation.

"Bien entonces, hombres garala." (Well then, men get her.)

The doors on the car open and 3 men come out, holding knives, they walk toward Mazu. One grabs her arm and in an instant, his head is cut off, the other men stare in horror.

"Mierda!' (Shit.)

The body and head fall, people shriek, the other men back away, Mazu is now holding 2 void axes. She dashes and cuts their heads off, the well-dressed one jitters around getting into his car, and the neighbors run away.

She leaps onto the car's windshield and destroys it. The glass slices the man's face, her ax cuts his neck and the car hits a house.

Mazu steps off the car, a neighbor runs up to her and gets on his knees, he begs.

"Por favor perdónanos Mazu! El hombre nos prometió mucho dinero si le decíamos dónde vivías! Él quería tu sangre negra! No sabíamos que iba a quemar tu casa!"

(Please forgive us Mazu, the man promised us a lot of money if we told him where you lived! He wanted your black blood! We didn't know he was going to burn your house down!)

Mazu stares at him, poker-faced.

"Enviaré a todos aquí al infierno." (I'll send everyone here to hell.)

Mazu hacks the man's head and continues moving forward.

She proceeded to go through her neighborhood killing everyone she remembered being near her burning house.

Backs, heads, legs, arms, all chopped. An hour after all of this, the police arrived. Mazu stares at the guns pointed at her, she's tired and unwilling to attempt to avoid anything.

She is promptly torn apart by bullets. People rush to her corpse and drink the blood pouring out of it.

…

Rinks looks up and closes his eyes. Nothing happens, he's confused.

Rinka: I can't go into my body.

Mazu: … Something must have happened up there.

Rinka: Like what?

Mazu: Your body is probably unconscious.

Rinka: Oh.

…

Zeph stands, and Mausho dashes over to him.

Mausho: Bro. Let's get out of here!

Zeph: Fine.

Zeph's monster appears, they quickly jump into its mouth where about a second later they're spat out from, zooming away from Yutsu.

He stares at them, not concerned at all.

TO BE CONTINUED…