King of Nothing Part 5

The human body is an amazing thing sometimes. The lengths it'll go to save itself in a crisis is something to be commended. Hell, at the most minor level, all it takes is a simple cut and blam; just like that, the vessels clot, and platelets take over without even having to think about it.

And at the biggest levels, my mom used to tell me about thousands of stories of "regular" people finding the strength to take on the world once pushed in the corner in the days long past. And I've been through more crises than I can count, so of course, it was only a matter of time before I started to weaponize it.

Despite becoming even faster than before out of pure rage, my trump card: "Crisis Mode," made her advance feel slower than ever. Because with the onset of such a danger, my body pulled up every ace it had. Like a jump-started engine, adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine flooded through my veins in rivers, temporarily turning my empty tank to a full 100%.

Like a jolt of lightning, strength returned to my exhausted legs, my arms moved light as a feather, and my brain twitched my negatively neurotic neurons into overtime. Then, with Taurus' predictable path, I side jumped out of the way in the nick of time. Or so I thought, as I didn't even try to account for my cape.

Like some mad merry-go-round, Taurus spun me right into the ropes hard enough to slingshot me back to her instantly. Cupping her hands together, all I could do was pull off a minor evasion and split-second block that saved my ass from a potential neck fracture. Still, the fall was hard enough to leave my teeth bleeding red and bones rattling.

By the time I got used to my surroundings, Taurus had already prepped up a stomp to the head, fully willing to give me a concussion at worst. Survival instinct kicked in again, using my cape to hide a minute dodge and a back spinning high kick to the face. Surprise overtakes Taurus more than actual damage, though, forcing me to wail on her with nothing held back.

From there, I closed into the beast, curling my left hand into a palm strike to the solar plexus, hoping I could sacrifice power for safety. A barrage of body blows followed that up with an intense interchanging of slaps, elbow, and palm strikes. Each hit chipped away at Taurus, but unfortunately, that was all they were doing.

Eventually, Taurus could get the hang of the pattern, breaking up the combo with a violent shove from her left hand. Taking notice, I pulled off a little trick while pretending my balance got thrown off as I got sent tumbling back on the floor, acting as I got outdone. Taurus once again looks at my beaten frame, reveling in the power she wielded; the look she gave me got so expected it almost made me nauseously nostalgic.

"Hmph, guess you were nothing but talk," she said in a proud tone.

At that moment, my inner demon shined through, lacing in subtle truth with my next statement.

"You honestly still think you're winning? How much bullshit is in that wide load of an ass? Because the way I see it, we are just getting started," I said while getting up with blood in my eyes.

With a small gesture of my right arm, Taurus realized what I had done; amid my earlier barrage, I had finally gotten my true objective: her right hand. Because in that split second, I was able to tie my cape around her left and my right hand. Shock and confusion appeared on her face as I decided to mislead her with my now truthful statement.

"If you still think I'm all talking, then I guess I have to show you why the real fight starts here!"