Power!

(Qayshawn Bedgood)

Kabloom!

The air around me whipped up in a righteous fervor as my fist slammed into the chest of my opponent. Each time that it landed, the thick pelt of my opponent dispelled the impact. That allowed him to just move forward with no hesitation. Stopping Bernard in this state was akin to stopping a runaway train.

The ground splintered around my feet as Bernard's fist slammed into my forearms from above. The pressure behind it was enough to turn the solid dirt road into makeshift quicksand. His assault had been relentless, and now I remained with several flesh wounds around my shoulders.

At a time during this encounter, I had managed to remain uncontested due to my superior speed, but that time was fleeting. As time went on, the angrier Bernard had become, the larger his body increased. It had become to the point that his larger, thicker arms could reach me regardless. To account for that, I had swapped up my tactics and turned this fight into a slug-fest. I had attempted to reduce his attempts to pierce me with his claws with a straightforward barrage of punches.

For the most part, this approach has proven to be successful. Many of my punches had begun to push back the momentum of Bernard, but it came at a price. Although my heart rate had increased, and my strength multiplied as well, there was a hitch. My stamina had begun to leak from me as well. The more punches I threw resulted in equally if not greater stamina loss. At this rate, I would burn it out in a matter of minutes.

'Damn. I have to change up tactics! This shit ain't it!'

The left claw of the man suddenly reached out and latched itself around my chest. His hands had grown so much that he was fully capable of grabbing me like an object. My vision blurred as I found myself traveling through the air. As the saying goes; "What goes up, must come down."

My body crashed into the treeline, and pain shot through my body. It was then that I reconsidered my priorities.

'Ain't no point in saving these people if I have to sacrifice myself. I might need to bounce while I get the chance.'

To be frank, I was now being forced backward. The sudden increase in Bernard's strength had slowly become overwhelming. His assault was ruthless to the point that I didn't have enough time to escape the area that I was just thrown towards. His hand had begun pressing down against my chest, and more of my stamina began slipping away.

I locked my hands around his wrist and used my strength to begin forcing his hand upward. It was an exhausting act, but once I managed to achieve it, I pushed it aside. My feet buried themselves in Bernard's chest following that, and with my strength, I managed to push him off of me.

Rolling my hips, my feet found themselves underneath me once more. Bernard's large frame slammed into me with his shoulder, and my footing was compromised. Despite staggering, I was able to catch the brunt of his charge.

My fingers latched deeply into his fur, and I attempted to push him backward. A wet liquid suddenly trickled from above, and that triggered my instincts. My eyes shifted above to see the sharp teeth of Bernard racing near me. This bastard intended to use his teeth as a weapon as well.

Not allowing myself to have my flesh torn by the menace of Bernard's mouth, I quickly retracted my arms from his fur. My palms caught the upper and bottom halves of his mouth. Although I resisted as best as I could, Bernard's strength proved superior. He ripped out of my grip in one motion and reached high in the sky with his long arms.

His claws plunged towards my face, and at the last moment, I caught it. Well, I attempted to catch it. My right bracer, I attempted to catch the blow. Instead, a sharp pain shot out through the region. A warm liquid began formulating at the site, and the once durable metal was reduced to scrap.

Although it did not survive unharmed, the bracer did provide enough resistance for his attack to miss my main body. It was thanks to his hand being stuck in the ground that allowed me to escape that position. I was fighting at a disadvantage in the treeline where he threw me, so I quickly re-positioned to the more open road. I placed my body in between my attacker and the passengers in the carriage.

The horrified cries of the children erupted behind me. It honestly was distracting me. My thoughts became stagnant, and at that moment, I had no idea what to do.

"Hey! Tell me what's going on with him? How can I stop him?!", I questioned the passengers.

The only thing that I could do at this moment. With his larger size, I can't attempt to place him in another choke hold. I barely have enough stamina to keep me out of harm's way. I know that he is experiencing something similar to power-ups, but I didn't know that his strength would increase that drastically. Not only that, but his size also increased, which made it far more difficult to grapple with him.

"H-He is in the Beastman's Wrath State! They are nearly unstoppable like this!", Those words came from the Stage-coachman.

"Beastman's Wrath State?", I repeat. Now that I know the name of it, I do see some parallels from a time ago. Though I don't remember exactly where I have heard about that from somewhere.

A bone-chilling roar erupted from Bernard as the Beastman became more consumed in his wrath. To be able to increase his strength with his rage seemed to be the key component of his current state. It is essentially a cheat code that allows his strength to constantly increase. From the looks of it, Bernard is more experienced than I am with my own. Despite my heart increasing faster than before, It appeared that my strength had plateaued.

"How do I get him out of it?!", I asked quickly.

Bernard was a relentless bastard, and it appeared that he was getting ready for another charge.

That presented a problem. Although I think that I couldn't withstand one or two more charges, I knew that I would have to. The way that I positioned myself now and came to bite me in my ass. If I were to move now, then the people behind me would be trampled.

"I-I don't know! It is impossible until they burn out!"

"Burn out?!"

The way he began charging towards me indicated that Bernard had no intention of slowing down. His shoulder slammed into my forearms, and I transitioned them to wrap around his shoulder blade. I blunted his momentum with my body, which further blasted my own stamina down. Attempting to grapple him by his head I managed to stop him with my dwindling strength. Though he resisted to the end. The sharp clatter of teeth transpired as Bernard attempted to tear into my shoulder.

That action forced me to abandon my hold on him and transition to a more favorable position underneath his body. That proved to be a mistake. The moment I transitioned underneath his body, his large knee struck me directly in my chest. To say that he knocked the wind out of me was an understatement. With no air in my lungs, my strength vanished. I was helpless when he scooped me up and then slammed me into the ground behind him.

Pain shot through my body as I could myself staring up towards the sky.

I was completely overwhelmed, and I was out of my league. My strength alone would not be enough to overcome this obstacle. I need better tools, I need my own cheat code…

I could feel my body slip out of Bernard's hand, and his claw traced high in the sky. He placed his other hand against my chest to pin me underneath him. His eyes were red, with saliva slipping out from between his teeth. Although every instinct that I had called for me to move, I do not think I had enough to evade it. With any of my bracers remaining, I couldn't even attempt to deflect it. I was going to be smitten, and with Bernard holding me down, there was not anything I could do about it.

The claw began to descend and narrowed the distance to my face.

"You're done.", Bernard growls.

There is an escape for me. I am about to end my journey earlier than I anticipated. I guess we'll find out if there's a resurrection system in this game… My eyes closed themselves as I prayed that somehow I was capable of resisting it or recovering from it.

"Tch-AHAH!"

A groan of pain erupted from above me, and it was accompanied by a liquid that painted my cheek. My eyes shot, and what I found surprised me. A blade had pierced the wrist that came from above. This caused Bernard to shift his weight off of me. With his hand now off of me, a much-needed breath slipped into my lungs. I wondered what had just happened, but I could figure that out later. I need to drag my sorry ass out of this hole that I am in.

"You're dead! Dead boy!", Bernard roars in anguish.

'Boy? That could only mean…'

In the damndest display of defiance, Bernard ripped the item out of his flesh and tossed it aside. My body was reeling and running on fumes. Despite that fact, when I saw Bernard lash out with his attack towards the individual, I forced my body into overtime. I pushed myself up like a bat out of hell and latched myself onto the arm of the Beastman.

He and I were both surprised, but I felt it. The warming sensation floods every muscle in my body. He held him back and prevented the extermination of the person to have me. That person was Carilius… Carilius, the damn fool.

The young male wore a petrified expression as Bernard's claws were a few inches away from his chest. He had saved me at that moment, so I had to return the favor.

Ba Bump! Fwooosh! Ba Bump! Fwooosh!

My heart picked up once more, but this time, it was different. The sensation within my body began leaking out of it and kicked up gusts of wind. Each heartbeat greatly expanded the wind gust that was produced. That wasn't the only benefit that I had begun to notice. Each heartbeat began replenishing the stamina and strength that I had lost. Inch by inch, I began gaining ground on Bernard until I was fully capable of forcing him backward.

Ba Bump! Fwooosh! Ba Bump! Fwooosh! Ba Bump! Fwooosh! Ba Bump! Fwooosh!

The air whipped up violently around me as if a sudden tornado had chosen me as its eye. Carilius had gotten blown backward as a result after being swept up by the current. I had no control over that, but I did feel much lighter.

'I know this feeling… Yeeaahh!'

Although at first I didn't recognize it, now I knew what this was. I felt it deep in the annals of my soul. Qayshawn Bedgood does not go down without a fight. I'll crack the skulls of anyone that gets in my way and blow them away!

'The mechanics are there, bud. You just have to envision them. Even if you can not see it, trust that they are there… My knowledge and mental expertise directly control the power that is at the fingertips of Roktavor… We should just acknowledge that we have these powers and then we have them…'

"Mark…Bishop… You beautiful bastards, you were right!", I shouted out. My fist clenched, and the wind reacted accordingly. "I'll make Brass' power my own, and stop half-assing this fight!"