Chapter 24-Team Noah vs Tungsten, Part Two

Tungsten slams his staff back into the ground, sending dozens of iron rods flying towards us again.

"Iron Charge, Level One: Pole Pistol!"

In response, Old-Man F resumes his Charge Stance.

"Sand Charge, Level One: Sand Clone!" Old-Man F shouts as his body turns into the sand the exact moment Tungsten's iron rods slam into him, passing straight through Flint's body.

Khione and I resume our Charge Stances as well.

A mound of sand then rises out of the ground behind Tungsten, and takes the form of Flint in his Charge Stance.

"Sand Charge, Level two: Sand Spear!" Flint shouts as he launches a flurry of punches towards Tungsten's back, firing off a spear of sand with each punch.

In response, Tungsten slams his staff into the ground, then turns around to face Flint.

"Iron Charge, Level two: Dystopian Maze," Tungsten says as a wall of iron rises out of the train before Tungsten, completely shielding him from Old-Man F's attack.

"Water Charge, Level Two: Water Claw!"

"Ice Charge, Level Two: Solid Hammer!"

My hand begins swirling with water which I then swing towards Tungsten, firing off a blade of water from each finger, just as Khione swipes both of her hands outwards, freezing the air above Tungsten's head, and causing a block of ice to fall down upon him.

Tungsten raises his staff up, and the iron wall he used to shield himself from Flint's spell begins to rise into the air then curve back, touching the ground behind Tungsten, and forming a dome-like barrier of iron which blocks all three of our spells.

"Seriously?!" I cry, "He blocked all of our spells at once?!"

"And now…" Tungsten smirks as he slams his staff back into the ground, "Iron Charge, Level one: Pole Pistol!"

The iron making up Tungsten's shield then fires outwards in the form of multiple rods of iron, bashing into the three of us, and causing Khione, Old-Man F, and myself to crash back down to the ground.

Khione resumes her Charge Stance.

"Ice Charge, Level One: Permafrost!" Khione shouts as she swipes both hands outwards, freezing the air around Tungsten and encasing him in ice.

"Good going, Khione!" I cheer as I resume my Charge Stance.

"Let's go, Noah!" Old-Man F orders as he resumes his Charge Stance as well.

"Water Charge, Level One: Bullet Rain!" I shout as I twist my hands through the air, summoning needle-sharp rainfall above Tungsten.

"Sand Charge, Level Three: Sandstorm!" Old-Man F shouts as the sand around Tungsten's train begins to spiral, then rises into the air around Tungsten, forming a powerful sandstorm around him.

A moment later, Khione's ice begins to crack. Another crack forms in Khione's ice, and then another, and another, cracks spreading across the ice like branching rivers. And finally…Khione's ice shatters, sending chunks of ice flying everywhere.

Once Khione's ice shatters, Tungsten's eyes widen, finding himself surrounded by our spells.

"I don't…have time to E-Charge?!" Tungsten cries.

"Ice Charge, Level Three: Solid Lance!" Khione shouts as she resumes her Charge Stance, before swiping both hands outwards, and a lance of ice fires out of each ice chunk that had shattered off of Tungsten's body, all aimed towards him.

I roar, Khione roars, and Old-Man F roars as our three spells all fly towards him. Our three spells then blast into Tungsten, sending water, sand, and ice shavings flying everywhere.

"Did we…get him?" I ask.

"It…seems so?" Old-Man F answers, "Though that may have been too easy…"

A moment later, our spells subside. My rainfall ends, Khione's ice melts, and Old-Man F's sand falls back into the ground.

And then, once we get a good look at Tungsten, our eyes widen. For Tungsten's entire body is covered in a silver shell-like outer layer. Tungsten is bloodied up from our previous spells, but is otherwise unscatched.

"Tungsten…coated himself in steel…?" I ask.

"I can't believe you three pathetic WORMS were enough to force me to use this spell…" Tungsten growls as his grip on his staff tightens so much it snaps in half, "IRON CHARGE, LEVEL THREE: FULLMETAL SHELL!"

Old-Man F's eyes widen. "This is it, this is…Tungsten's STRONGEST spell…"

"What is it exactly?" Khione asks.

"Tungsten quite literally used his Iron Charge to turn his skin into iron," Old-Man F explains, "As it stands right now, our spells can't even INJURE him."

"Right you are, my old friend!" Tungsten booms as he slams a fist into the ground, and silver sparks of energy begin to burst and swirl around his body.

"Tungsten changed his Charge Stance?!" I cry.

"IRON CHARGE, LEVEL ONE: POLE PISTOL!" Tungsten roars as dozens of iron rods fire out of the train beneath him, all flying towards the three of us.

"We need to be able to break through Tungsten's iron!" Old-Man F cries.

"I have an idea!" Khione exclaims as she takes a step in front of Old-Man F and I and enters her Charge Stance.

"Khione, what are you doing?!" Old-Man F cries.

"I'm gonna cold-snap this iron!" Khione smirks as she swipes both hands outwards, "Ice Charge, Level One: Permafrost!"

Khione freezes the air around Tungsten's iron rods, freezing them. But immediately after, Tungsten's iron rods shatter through Khione's ice and continue flying towards us.

Old-Man F then resumes his Charge Stance.

"Sand Charge, Level Four: Sand Whip!" Old-Man F shouts as he touches his hands to the ground, and tendrils of sand fly out of the ground and wrap around Tungsten's iron rods, prohibiting their charge.

Old-Man F grunts as he struggles to hold on tight to Tungsten's iron rods, but a moment later, Tungsten's iron rods break free from Old-Man F's grasp, and continue flying towards him.

Tungsten's iron rods then bombard the three of us, causing us to howl in pain as we fall to the ground in a pool of blood.

"Damn…" I grunt.

"Ow…" Khione winces.

Tungsten winces as he touches a hand to the bloody gash in his steel armor where Khione's ice lance had pierced him.

"Mary!" Tungsten barks as he spins around to face the small child, causing Mary to flinch, and immediately, the iron charges binding Mary's body snap off of her.

Mary trembles as she peers up at Tungsten, who looms over her.

"Noah…" Old-Man F grunts.

"Yeah…?" I weakly ask as I peer back over at Old-Man F.

"Only YOU can defeat Tungsten," Old-Man F answers, "It HAS to be you."

My eyes widen. "ME?!" I cry, "Why does it have to be me?! You're the strongest one here!"

"Because…you're…our leader," Old-Man F answers, "The true hero."

My eyes soften.

"In actuality, it's because of your element," Old-Man F explains as he peers over to me, "Water…is what flooded this world, not sand, not ice, WATER. Water managed to slice through mountains and erode the world into nothingness. So if anyone can break through Tungsten's steel…it's you."

"I see…" I reply as I clench my hands into fist. And then…I punch the ground, using the force to help slowly push myself up to my feet.

"Heal me," Tungsten orders as he grabs Mary's wrist, and forces her hands to his bloody sides.

Mary trembles as she peers down at Tungsten's wound, his blood seeping through her finger tips

"DON'T DO IT, MARY!" I roar, causing the girl to flinch, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO TUNGSTEN ANY LONGER, DON'T GIVE IN! I OFFERED YOU A PLACE IN TEAM NOAH, REMEMBER?! I THINK IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO TAKE IT!"

Mary's eyes widened.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, MARY?!" Tungsten roars as his blood continues to seep through Mary's finger tips.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, MARY!" I roar as well.

Nervously, Mary and I look back and forth between Tungsten and I, with tears in her eyes.

And then…Mary retracts her hands from Tungsten.

"YES!" I cheer.

"NO!" Tungsten cries.

Right after, Mary places both hands to her head and crouches down in futsal position, as maroon-red sparks of energy begin to burst and swirl around Mary's body.

"No…" I softly say as my smile fades.

"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT, MARY!" Tungsten cackles as Mary places both of her hands to Tungsten's bloody wound.

But then…blood begins to trickle out of Tungsten's mouth, and a moment later, he coughs up a glob of blood, spraying it across the train.

"M-Mary!" Tungsten winces, "What are you doing?!"

"Blood Charge, Level Two…" Mary begins to say.

And then…she peers up at Tungsten and glares at him.

"TOXIC BLOOD!"