The Weak and the Strong

Magic can be anything.

It can be powerful.

Horrible.

Weak.

Strong.

But it can be mendable. Pushed. Pulled.

Only those strong enough and willed enough can touch its limits.

---

An empty wasteland across Tokyo. No monsters to be seen in all four directions. Blank streets of grey smoke and crumbled corpses. Tokyo was empty in seconds. The underground bunkers on every street corner, the hidden tunnels leading outside the city.

Only two remained in the center of the city.

Colt stood with his hands in his pockets, and his short black tinted white hair flowing over his face. His pearly eyes. He passed through barricades after barricades. Lower Classed Sorcerers watching from afar, wondering who this strange white-suited individual they had never heard of could be.

And following him. A slightly shorter man in an all black-suited uniform and a red Second-Class pin attached to the left side of his chest.

"How long are ya gonna follow me, Toby?" (Colt)

They walked down the empty streets. Toby following Colt from a couple of feet away.

"The Grand Sorcerer told me to follow you. I didn't have a choice in the matter." (Toby)

He had dark-black pulled-back hair and a face tired and sunken. His eyes had permanent creases, but he hid them with short flat-framed round sunglasses that sat loosely on his thin nose.

He pulled out a small monster tracker. Watching as the massive black dot blinked in and out high above Tokyo.

Colt started to walk faster.

"You really a dog for that old geezer now? Remember the Special Magic Squad, huh? You really struck up the nerve to leave us for him." (Colt)

Toby caught up.

"No offense. Your a great man and all Colt. But... Foods gonna have to be put on the table somehow and the Special Magic Squad... It doesn't pay well." (Toby)

"Uhhh... Yeah, I understand that." (Colt)

They stopped at an abandoned long highrise road. Buildings high in the sky towering too high to understand. Empty streets of abandoned cars and monster guts.

Toby walked up to the curb. He noticed dead humans along with dead monsters.

"Odd..." (Toby)

"Humans? Wierd." (Colt)

Toby leaned over one of the dead humans. Colt looked at one of the dead monsters.

"I think Yua said somethin about how all the monsters just went up and disappeared. I was kinda sus about it, plus I don't see any Magic Force Sorcerers around to do this." (Colt)

Toby turned over the human. A slash mark from the stomach to the head. A straight perfect cut, nothing like a claw or a monster bit. Something more-

"They were killed by people. A sword of some kind." (Toby)

He turned to another dead human. Pierced puncture wounds across their chest and arms.

"This one... It's like they were pierced by a hook?" (Toby)

"Huh? The monsters are the same. Super sketchy. But not my job to deal with." (Colt)

He slapped his two hands together and pointed them toward the sky. He flipped himself upside down.

"By the way, Colt. Don't fight that thing for too long. End it quickly. My girlfriend and I have a show we're watching. And I can't be late by a second. Got it?" (Toby)

"Yeah yeah. You and your girlfriend. I got you." (Colt)

He disappeared into the sky. The sun slowly setting lower and lower. The long road leading the sun across the city.

"I'll investigate in the meantime." (Toby)

He walked away from the scene, following the trails of dead people and low-classed monsters.

He looked down the street.

"The bodies stop at that cafe." (Toby)

The only building with its lights still on. An abandoned cafe with its large front window shattered across the sidewalk.

Three shadow figures sat around a small table inside.

"Three? Do they work for the Magic Force?" (Toby)

He walked across the street, stopping at the shattered window.

The three strange figures turned in unison at Toby's presence. One leaned back, sipping their medium warm coffee in a small glass, the other sat in the back of the group with a playing card in hand. And the last held a gigantic katana that spanned most of the cafe's interior.

Toby stepped closer. He looked toward the back.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Two Fourth-Class Sorcerers and Two-Third Class Sorcerers were hung across the ceiling, their stomaches impaled by invisible hooks that appeared from thin air. The strange figure sipping his coffee stood up.

He stepped into the light. A yellow cloth mask wrapped around his head. He pulled out a-

Ding ding!

Toby pulled out his phone and started texting.

"What are you doing?" (Yellow Mask)

"I'm texting." (Toby)

The Yellow Masked man took another step closer.

Toby held out his left hand like a stoplight.

"Wait! My girlfriend can't find the scissors. I just need to-" (Toby)

"Your girlfriend can wait." (Yellow Mask)

"She really can't dude." (Toby)

The shadowed figure holding the long katana stepped up. She wore a red cloth mask.

"Just kill him. He's just trying to look cool." (Red Mask)

"I am not. I am simply being a good boyfriend. You murderers wouldn't understand." (Toby)

The Yellow Masked individual stepped out of the cafe and onto the glass-covered street.

Toby stopped texting and finally put his phone back into his jacket pocket.

"Ok, I'm done. What were we talking about?" (Toby)

The Yellow Masked figure stepped into the spotlight of the bloodied streets. He was shirtless. His arms and chest covered in countless horrible full-body tattoos. His pants were tasteless and filled with holes.

"We were talking about your death." (Yellow Mask)

The Red Masked Woman with the odachi katana stepped up as well. Toby stepped back onto the empty street.

"Wait, before we start. I want to know about the situation. Why would you three kill innocent people?" (Toby)

"Because we felt like it." (Red Mask)

"Well, that's definitely not ok. That means I'm gonna have to write a big old report about you guys later. Especially crazy people, monsters are easy. But the humans take way longer. It's just a hassle after hassle." (Toby)

The final shadowed man in the back stood up. The other two stepped onto the street.

"Watch out for this one. He is stronger than the usual." (Masked Sorcerers Leader)

---

Colt flew higher and higher into the sky. Hundreds of feet into the clouds. To the point where Tokyo became a small landscape of tall buildings and rural towns. He reached the Black Level A Rift hundreds of feet up.

It was long and thin. Its edges white and shining. A rip through space and time. Colt floated closer to it. It's small gap thin and barely visible.

"Never seen one so close?" (Colt)

He looked in all directions. No monsters to be seen.

"No monsters either." (Colt)

A being appeared in the air. It's body hovering on a small black cloud.

It was humanoid. It's black body dripping and grotesque like oil had been slathered and burned onto its skin.

"Human? What brings you?" (Monster)

Colt turned around.

"Oh my! So you can speak? A monster that can speak actual words." (Colt)

"Of course. I am what you humans would call X-Class." (Monster)

Colt's eyes shot out. Intrigued by this odd and impossible monster in front of him.

"So you know of human things. And you have self-identity. And you can understand me. Are you human, some type of odd crazy fucked magic guy or whatever?" (Colt)

Colt floated upside down. His jetted hands pointed upside down toward the remaining sky. He was confused by this monster's odd mismatched grammar and accent, it's odd look, it's humanoid form that meshed with burned skin and thick black tar.

"When I came into this world I was purely magic. Then I was born a name. Volcan. I came from a world you humans once called Hell and Heaven. We called it the Magic Realm. You humans used to worship us. Gods and Demons. Now you despise us." (Volcan)

Colt leaned back confused.

"My goal is to find The Competitor. The human counterpart of magic. The equal. In strength and wisdom." (Volcan)

"What? I have no clue what you're saying. You speak like a five-year-old. Plus you're doing too much world-building or whatever. I really don't give two flying fucks about that type of stuff." (Colt)

Volan stood up on his black cloud of smoke and ash.

"So how about we just fight already? I'm getting tired of your monologue." (Colt)

"I agree. Fighting should be the human's natural instinct." (Volcan)

"Good good. I can't believe I'm agreeing with a monster but..." (Colt)

He released and slapped his hands back together in an instant.

"I honestly... Don't give a damn!" (Colt)

He flung himself across the skies. The clouds brushing against his stiff feet as he propelled against gravity and air. Around he went.

He swung up on Volcan.

"You humans and your clever magic... Too weak." (Volcan)

Volcan pointed its two fists out in either direction.

It opened its palms.

Highly condensed beams of plasma shot across the horizon. Flames in a single line, burning the tips of the cloud layer blocking the sky and the city.

One of the beams reached Colt.

He quickly released his praying hands and fell through the layer of clouds dodging the attack.

He slapped his hands back together.

"That attack is strong-" (Colt)

Volcan appeared from thin air. A rush of heat and flames in its wake.

Colt stopped his movements. He released his magic once again. Pulling back his fist and-

"Too slow." (Volcan)

It grabbed Colt's fist. Its dark deep sunken black eyes peering into his soul. His fist burning from the touch.

"You think your magic can-" (Volcan)

Colt prayed with one hand.

"You touching me. You know what that means." (Colt)

Volcan felt an odd gravity on it's slithered back of oil and ashy skin. It felt the power propelling it up and up and up and up.

"What did you do human?" (Volcan)

"One touch is all I need. And your dead." (Colt)

Volcan couldn't hold Colt's grip any longer. Their two gravities pulling against eachother. Volcan flew faster and faster up and up and up and up.

"What did you do to me!" (Volcan)

It disappeared into the darkness of the night sky.

Colt slowly floated away. His right gloved hand was burnt and ashy, with skin peeling and blood dripping.

"Ha! Easy. I didn't even need to use one of my-" (Colt)

BOOOM!

An explosion erupted high above Colt. Heatwaves in all directions. A large cast of fire and flames expanded in one long wave of death toward him.

He slapped his hands back together quick. Flying far away from the blast at super-sonic speeds.

"So the monster figured out the trick. It created more force than gravity and broke the magic curse. Ohhhh, man...! I haven't faced a monster this strong in a long time! I need more X-Classes in the world." (Colt)

Faster than fast. Faster than Colt. Faster than light itself. The monster propelled itself using the blasts of fire from its explosion.

It stopped abruptly. Colt reached back he kicked Volcan but as soon as his foot got in range everything began to burn. His boot began to melt.

"Shheeesh!" (Colt)

He flung himself back a few meters.

Volcan stood with its arms crossed. Its flames allowing it to float in the air.

"Your magic is weak. You humans are all too weak. Especially you. You are the weakest of them all." (Volcan)

"Really? Me weak. That was just the iceberg..." (Colt)

Volcan held out its arm. It shot a super-condensed beam of plasma. Colt couldn't dodge fast enough. It pierced right through his shoulder.

"Ahh... God fuck! You really had to do that?!" (Colt)

"You are the weakest. I can see it all. Your magic. Your past. All flooded in misery and death. Not strength." (Volcan)

Colt started sweating.

"Ha ha ha ha! That was the last straw monster. I was fine with my hand. But..." (Colt)

"You laugh and you talk funny. A sign of weakness. A sign of immaturity. Real magic is born in power and strength. Not lies." (Volcan)

"I said... That was the last straw..." (Colt)

Volcan held out its arm once again.

"You are weak. Now lay to waste human." (Volcan)

Colt burst out laughing.

"Weakness that. Weakness this. Strength that. Strength this. Honestly..." (Colt)

Volcan shot out the super-condensed beam of plasma.

Switch.

Flip.

"I may look it, sound it... But I am not weak." (Colt)

Colt's eyes. From sarcastic laughter to quick anger.

Volcan's eyes. From complete control and dominance to confusion and fear.

"What did you...?" (Volcan)

He was behind the monster. His hands praying to a higher being. Four fingers on either hand toward the sky. His first two fingers held in.

"I guess I had to use my first fingers." (Colt)

Volcan slowly turned around.

"It's something I gotta work on. I always act all sarcastic and shit. But deep down. Everyone I meet. Including humans. I hate all their fuckin guts!" (Colt)

"That magic. That wasn't-" (Volcan)

Second finger.

"I said shut the fuck up." (Colt)

Memories passed faster than Colt could activate his magic.

His first fingers, second fingers, third fingers, fourth fingers.

---

"Huf huf huf huf!" (Volcan)

Colt floated with his eyes looking down sad.

"But how!? You are-" (Volcan)

"Human... Your gonna say, human, right?" (Colt)

"No! It is not possible. You are only human. You are not The Competitor?! So how? Your magic is-" (Volcan)

Colt flew closer to Volcan. It's humanoid, dripping, oily, black monster body torn in half. Its arms ripped to a thread. Its head half dented and destroyed. Its bottom half missing and held up by a single black ash cloud.

"Ok now you give me answers. Tell me about all that shit you were talking about earlier." (Colt)

"You are... Impossible! I can not-" (Volcan)

Colt slapped it across the face.

"Yo if you keep up with this shit. I'm gonna kill you." (Colt)

"If you kill me? No... It is too late human. They will already come. The end will come. You, humans, our divine punishment. I will bring the rest of us. Stronger. Our pure magic-" (Volcan)

"Yo yo yo! Just give me something that's not cryptic already." (Colt)

Volcan aimed its last remaining arm at the city below.

"Die!" (Volcan)

It released its magic in a final stretch of condensed plasma.

Colt quickly swung around in a full-three-sixty, waving his hands around and pointing his praying fingers at the incoming beam.

Third fingers.

---

Ten minutes later.

Colt laid back. His hands praying higher and higher. He floated higher and higher. He looked out over the moon. The gigantic moon in the winter night.

He reflected on his short battle.

"Damn, should've guessed it would've escape after that final attack. And these injuries. I really played too soft today." (Colt)

He touched his arm and shoulder.

"And if that Valcon or whatever its name was, is telling the truth. Then there's more like em on the way." (Colt)

A toy helicopter appeared next to him. Yua's voice spoke through.

"Colt can you hear me?" (Yua)

"Huh? Yua what are you doing in a copter?" (Colt)

"Good you can hear me... What's the situation up there?" (Yua)

"Ummm. Yeah I totally killed it..." (Colt)

"Excellent work. And now that we've closed all the other Red level B Rifts, there should be no more monster trouble. All we need you to do is seal up that Rift up there and were all done." (Yau)

"You want me to seal the Rift?" (Colt)

"Exactly. And do it fast. Toby ran into some company down on the ground. Human company." (Yua)

"Rogue Sorcerers?" (Colt)

"We can't tell for sure yet, but it seems to be the case. Just don't do anything rash until-"

Colt slapped the helicopter out of the sky, sending it flying to the ground with his magic.

"I'm too pooped to deal with Rogue Sorcerers. Uhhhggg... That monster really put me in a sour mood today." (Colt)