Chapter 12

Sirens wailing, emergency calls flowing in, people evacuating as the energies clash and the pressure building began to become toxic far beyond the perimeter set up by the military. At the base, Michael had the news on.

"I am Aidrian on the site, and right behind me you can witness this heavy flow of traffic. It's quite chaotic as people are panicking at the sight of this high-pressured energy clash. " Aidrian, a reporter, was struggling to maintain his balance as he spoke about the happenings a few miles away from the established radius.

"Earlier on, there were reports by the military of a test drill which was meant to briefly evacuate people within ten miles of Central Park East high school. It seems to have been more than just a test drill, as clearly the hazar... " Michael muted the screen. He had been calling out to Yu, but Yu was focused on the damage reports coming in.

"This is a total mess! The spy bot has been destroyed by that wild flow of energy! We don't know if James is hanging in there or not! We are blind! How much longer do we need to wait before they deploy a white source? " He bellowed.

"With this all over the news, the priority automatically shifts to guarding the president and important personnel. White sources are quite rare and apparently not enough. I got information that the closest unengaged one would be arriving soon. ETA fifteen minutes." Yu replied, looking at Michael.

"Would he be able to last that long?"

Yu took a deep breath and said, "Michael, you are our strongest combatant as of now."

"You don't need to say anymore! I was planning on bursting out of here to go stall for time anyway.

"Thank you!"

"You don't need to get all sentimental with me... I'll bring him back safely!" Michael smiled as he turned around to leave.

Yu clenched his fist as Michael left. He held the shoulder of his missing arm and bit his lower lip as he looked downwards, and his hair fell over his eyes."

"If only..."

BACK AT THE school's field, there were high-speed clashes and the ground cracked on impact. From both edges of the field, James and Edward dashed, clashing their weapons at the center of the field, releasing a large shockwave and burst of energy. Kris, who was getting closer to the field, got blown back into the school building. James gritted his teeth as he was being pushed back. He was bleeding from his palms from squeezing tightly on the energy blade. He yelled a bit as he tried to push back against Edward. He looked downwards and closed his eyes, struggling to call up more strength from his crackling body.

"What's wrong, James? You are getting weaker by the second!" Edward mocked as he threw him away.

James bounced twice and rolled till his face was on the ground. He tried to push himself up, but he fell back on his face. He was exhausted, and his body ached. His breathing was irregular, and his face was drenched in blood and sweat.

"It's too early to bow out, boy!" Edward smirked as the drill head of his spear began to rotate.

"Tchh..." James stabbed his sword into the ground. He squeezed the hilt and used it to lift himself up as his body staggered. He could barely open his left eye. He tried to control his heavy breathing! "

"That's it! Let me enjoy this more! " A trilled Edward pointed the violently rotating spear head at James.

"That was... that was really cheap... combining two cores together!"

"Hoo... are you going to cry about that? I never pegged you for a sore loser. This is almost too sad"

"Huuf Huuf..." James Panted.

"Are you really done for? That's disappointing... Maybe after I kill you, I'd head to the American base, play around with your dad and that annoying Major."

James paused for a while and looked up slowly at Edward. His energy began to rise as he squeezed tightly on the hilt.

"Maybe I'll find a way to get back to Egypt, trash around a bit, and finally get to meet your friend... You know... the one that saved you?"

The air started getting still as James began to feel his energy rise. His heart was beating faster as his sword pulsated on the ground.

"Abubakr was it? Probably he'd be able to take me on. You know..." Edward widened his eyes and laughed out loud, "SINGLE-HANDEDLY!"

James teleported behind Edward. His eyes were glowing red. He struck the blade at Edward, but Edward reacted in an instant, turning, and blocking with the rotating drill head.

"Hmmn?" James was surprised.

"It's too early to be surprised!" Edward smirked as the drill head doubled in size, shattering James' blade. At that moment, Edward gathered energy in his right hand and struck James in the gut.

His eyes popped out, his pupils rolled back as saliva poured out of his mouth. His hands and legs flared forward before the force sent him flying and then sticking into the wall of the school gym. The impact brought James' consciousness back. Almost immediately, he saw an even larger drill coming at him. The drill head, which had detached from the staff, was still linked to it by an energy chain. As the drill got closer to James, he formed an energy blast at his feet which propelled him upwards, dragging him along a hyperbolic path from the wall to the air, spinning him a bit. James gasped, barely catching his breath before he saw the drill, even larger, heading towards him. He dragged his hands forward forcefully, roared loudly, as if to call out all the energy in his body and created a small blast on his hands which shot him into the ground, dragging against it. He looked upward in despair as he saw an even larger drill coming downwards at him. He summoned two swords, joined them together to make an even larger sword, and struck against it. He kept struggling as he sank deeper into the ground. The drill doubled in size again, shattering his blade, but before it touched his chest plate, he teleported away and landed on his back against a tree. He rolled to his side, placed his hand on his mouth, and vomited out blood.

"Tch... You are still breathing," Edward scoffed as he retracted the drill head. It shrank back to its normal size before reattaching to the staff.

"I really wished I could have fought you at your full strength. This... I don't even know what to call this. Disappointing seems to be way too shallow a description. " Edward prattled as he walked closer to James.

He stopped for a while and looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "It's a reinforcement for you, and he is coming quickly." Edward smirked as he pointed his staff due south.

"What are you doing?" James asked while trying to raise himself up.

"Oh, not to worry, a bug just entered the radius." Edward jeered with a sadistic smile.

The drill head began to rotate as emerald energy gathered. It doubled in size and the rotating speed increased. It doubled a second, a third, and a fourth time. The ground began to vibrate and crack. The energy rise was insane. It felt like it was pressing James down against the ground. The dust rose, and the emerald energy shaped itself around the drill as if to dictate its path. It doubled in size once more, and Edward yelled maximum power before launching it. It tore through buildings almost instantaneously, with a loud screeching sound heading towards the intruder. Michael, who had just entered the 10-mile radius, could feel something coming fast towards him. In a few seconds, the drill appeared. The dark emerald energy oozing out of it. Micheal's eyes sunk in immediately.

"Is this really the difference between us? Was I a fool to think I could make a difference?" These thoughts ran through Micheal's head as the drill drew closer...