CHAPTER 63 : DESTRUCTION

Syakir's eyes opened, and he saw himself and Lilly covered in hard soil. He tried to move his body, but he couldn't do anything."Again and again... Why am I losing to them?!" Syakir groaned as he turned his gaze forward. He saw Danielle still holding his ground in the fight, his body covered in bruises and cuts from Ali and Khairul's attacks. A punch was thrown at Khairul, but a shield of light blocked it; Ali retaliated by punching Danielle in the face.The earth hands prevented Danielle from being flung far away. Ali appeared again in front of her and delivered another punch, sending her flying and destroying the earth hand behind her."Tell me, Danielle! Are you aware of what's happening?!" Ali shouted. Danielle steadied herself, wiping the blood flowing from his nose. His eyes briefly moved towards Syakir, who had regained consciousness, but Lilly was still hunched over, still unconscious.Khairul leaped towards Danielle, interrupting his thoughts. Danielle dodged the swings of Khairul's dual blades, and Nasuha, flying behind him, unleashed a beam of light that pushed Danielle aside, allowing Khairul to injure Danielle's back as he got close.These two kids have a powerful synergy. It's clear they train together often, meaning they're close...And their main weakness is...Danielle jumped powerfully into the air, approaching Nasuha, who didn't expect Danielle to attack her. With both hands directed forward, Danielle managed to grip both of Nasuha's hands before she could unleash any attack."Nasuha!" Khairul panicked as two earth hands moved toward Danielle, who was holding Nasuha in the air. Ali ran along the earth hands to get closer to Danielle."Argh!" Danielle broke Nasuha's hands and then threw her towards one of the approaching earth hands. Ali arrived and tried to throw a punch; Danielle dodged and caught Ali's hand, breaking it too before tossing him down to the ground."Your tactics are effective, but in a long fight, the enemy will notice the weaknesses in these tactics... When one falls, the whole thing collapses, right?" Danielle questioned as Khairul rushed towards Nasuha to check on her condition."Kha-Khai... It hurts... It really hurts... Urg..." Nasuha groaned, her arm and wrist bones fractured and protruding, the flesh looking purplish and blood flowing from the area where the broken bone pierced."I'm here... I'm here." Khairul lifted Nasuha's head and embraced her tightly. Suddenly, Danielle appeared in front of both of them, extending her left hand, but Nur managed to block her by erecting earth walls that shielded Khairul and Nasuha."Khairul, focus!" Nur shouted, and Khairul quickly jumped away, placing Nasuha beside Nur."It's okay, Khai... I'm okay... I'll be okay..." Nasuha said, trying to smile despite her pain. Khairul looked furious. He pulled out both of his swords again."Order, Restore."A smile appeared on Danielle's face as all his injuries and wounds completely healed. Khairul's steps halted as he realized what had happened."You heal quite fast, but I don't just heal injuries; my body returns to its original form completely. My stamina, strength, and power are back to their original capabilities... Even though you heal, you're still exhausted, right?" Danielle asked, and Khairul merely raised both his hands."So what? I'm not dead yet... so I'm going to kill you!" Khairul replied."Try it." Danielle smiled as Khairul charged towards him. Nur moved the earth around Khairul, his left hand aimed forward, and Danielle regained his confidence."Chaos, Entropy." A red-black aura surged towards Khairul like a whirlwind; even though the earth from Nur's powers tried to block it, the walls shattered, and Khairul was caught in Chaos, Entropy."Argh!" Khairul's blades bent repeatedly, and knife blades emerged, stabbing into his back, yet Khairul continued to move forward."You—" Danielle didn't expect Khairul to withstand his attack. Khairul brought Danielle's left hand down and tried to stab him in the face, but the blade of his sword crumpled upon hitting Danielle's face."Time to finish you all. I'm bored of this game." Danielle's left hand moved toward Khairul's face, his eyes wide open; there was no way for Khairul to dodge or escape in time."Weapon, Lasso of Justice!" A golden lasso instantly wrapped around Danielle, the aura that had been gathered in her left hand vanished.Khalid held onto Chyou, and Danielle tried to move his head to look at them but realized he couldn't move his body.My power, I can't feel it; I can't move my body... What is this?!"Get up, everyone! Defeat him!" Khalid shouted. Ali stood up, gripping his left hand, which was still usable, then leaped toward Danielle. Khairul struck both of Danielle's knees, causing him to kneel down.Danielle's face was hit by a strong punch from Ali, making it bruise instantly. Blue veins gathered in Ali's hand as he punched Danielle in the chest. Soon after, a purple lightning bolt struck Danielle, followed by Mikael, who gathered black liquid at the back of Danielle's neck, choking him."You won't escape this time!" Mikael declared. Kyoko appeared carrying Mei, placing both of Mei's hands on Danielle's head."N-No!" Danielle screamed as Khairul's blade stabbed into his stomach while Ali's hand pressed against his chest.Everyone touching Mei and Danielle entered his Mind Dimension together, and they found themselves in a public restroom."Urgh... Ah... Uh..." Danielle was sobbing while washing his hands in the sink, smeared with blood. Ali approached his brother, his hand reaching out toward Danielle.I told you not to look!Before Ali's hand could reach Danielle, the skin of everyone there tore apart, and their bodies shattered into thousands of pieces.Mei could no longer enter Danielle's mind; blood spurted from her nose. Danielle broke free from the lasso binding him, stepping on Khairul's head until it sank into the ground, then punched Ali squarely in the stomach. Mikael created a shadow knife to stab him from behind."Chaos, Reverse!"As a result of Danielle's attack, injuries that had slightly healed reopened worse than before for everyone within the range of the red-black aura emanating from Danielle's palms, including herself."S-Still... trying to 'save' me... Even after everything that's happened... Hahahaha... Stupid..." Danielle laughed through hIS pain, moving away from the fallen members of HOPE beneath her feet.Ali gasped for breath, his mask tattered, revealing half of his face. Danielle stepped forward, leaving a trail of blood, his smile twisted."Prove how valuable it is... to be human... by killing me, Ali..." Danielle challenged, Ali's expression turning sorrowful."You know... I can't do that... Danielle. I won't... kill. No matter how terrible someone is." Ali replied."What happens... if I destroy that orphanage? Kill those kids? Kill Ustaz Umar?" Danielle asked."Would you be willing to kill them?" Ali countered. They both fell silent for a while, Ali once again clenching his left hand, its veins glowing blue."Order, Restore." All of Danielle's injuries healed completely, and his torn clothes mended as well.Khairul emerged slightly from the ground where he had been buried, blood flowing from his head and nose. Khalid stepped forward, nearly falling but grabbing onto his Claw Sword. Chyou stood behind him. Nasuha's hands were covered in earth placed by Nur, who had healed her slightly; both faced Danielle.From a distance, Syafiq watched as the HOPE members and Ali, badly injured yet still facing their enemy, Danielle, who seemed untouchable."Their group of mutants doesn't seem like they want to join us. If they continue to oppose us, one day you'll fight him again..."After they... sacrificed various things to defend us.Am I willing to fight them?Can I become that monster?Syafiq hung his head in shame, recalling his offer to Zaki before."If you can't kill me here, I'll kill them, Ali," Danielle said.Oh Allah, will this never end?Is there truly no other way?I plead... Please help me now, Oh Allah.Ali moved his hand back, gathering energy. Danielle immediately moved towards him, and Khalid suddenly appeared in front of her thanks to Chyou's teleportation, swinging his blade, which pushed Danielle aside. Khairul turned his body and slashed at Danielle with his blade, but the attack left no mark whatsoever.Before he could retaliate, Chyou teleported Khairul to another location."Star Beam... Maximum Output!" Nasuha unleashed the maximum beam of Star Beam, being pushed back, but Nur helped prevent her from being thrown away due to her own power release. Danielle aimed his left hand at the Star Beam and stopped it with his bare hand, though the beam still pushed him back slightly."Like a cockroach... Hard to kill, huh." Danielle sighed, and Khalid appeared behind him, pinning Danielle's right hand down, while Khairul positioned his sword to prevent Danielle from pulling his hand back.Nasuha's palms began to burn, but she didn't stop her attack. Danielle gritted his teeth, realizing he was trapped again.In a desperate moment, Danielle kicked Khairul hard, but he didn't budge. Chyou then teleported in front of Danielle, smashing a container onto both of his legs. Danielle's eyes, filled with rage and desperation, met Chyou's.Bright blue light emanated from Ali's hand. Danielle turned to the front, surprised. Ali quickly approached him, swinging his left hand."Nuclear Punch!" The glowing blue punch struck Danielle's chest directly, and the wind generated from the punch sent everyone nearby flying, shattering the floor, debris flying into the air, and walls crumbling.Ali's left hand turned purple, with several open wounds, but the injuries did not affect him like the first time he unleashed the Nuclear Punch. Half of Danielle's body was destroyed, his still-beating heart visible through his burnt ribs."Are you willing to kill me... for them? Ali?" Danielle asked."I-I'm sorry, Danielle..." Ali replied, tears streaming down his cheeks. Danielle moved his right hand toward Ali's face."Maybe... you...did... change too..." Danielle said suddenly, punching Ali's face, causing Ali to fall to the side. A bright blue aura surrounded Danielle before regenerating the half of his body that had been destroyed and healing all his injuries.Ali's expression turned fearful, as did every member of HOPE who no longer had the strength to fight. Danielle still stood, even after being near death just moments ago.And what about the Mutants? How is he still alive?"You and HOPE have won..." Danielle said while walking away from Ali, stepping past the fallen HOPE members and approaching Syakir and Lilly.Danielle broke the earth that encased them, Syakir nearly falling, but Lilly was caught by Danielle, who carried her. Nasuha glanced at him as Danielle walked with Lilly, while Syakir, still confused, followed him in silence with an annoyed expression."So, do we kill them now? This is our chance, right?" Syakir asked Danielle. No HOPE members could fight, nor could Ali use either of his hands."No, they won, so they are allowed to live.""Stop joking. You're going back on your promise now, Danielle!" Syakir glared at him."I have many promises to keep. For now, we've gotten what we want, so you should be satisfied, Syakir..." Danielle replied."Hold on-" Syakir realized he had done nothing; Danielle was the only one who could defeat all the HOPE members and Ali, even after being gravely injured; he still emerged victorious as if unaffected by the previous fight."We can kill them any time we want. It would be boring if they died now..." Danielle instructed, and Syakir merely sighed, looking down to the side."N-Not yet! I... won't allow it. Don't run away, coward!" Khalid tried to stand but knelt weakly."We'll stay close, so don't worry; we will meet again, HOPE." Danielle said. He, Syakir, and Lilly walked towards the fallen wall, while the remaining conscious HOPE members could only watch with regret and disappointment as the three of them continued until they disappeared from view."What do you all think? It seems we've found our strongest candidate..."Sui'ra smiled, watching the resolution of the battle through his hologram, surrounded by packages of popcorn and empty cans beneath his sofa. There were four other holograms behind Sui'ra, showing other Zoturians in their human forms, including Xa'Ur."Still hesitating to kill the other Mutants... Honestly disappointing." Xa'Ur replied."The power to control destruction and reality, it would be terrifying if he continues to live and evolve... Never has there been a Zoturian mutated with such power before. Right now, there are many limitations, but I see what you see, Sui'ra." explained a female Zoturian with long black hair tied up, her right iris shaped like a sun."There are other Mutants with similar potential in other countries. He is strong, but still far from being the strongest being," said the male Zoturian with neatly styled hair, wearing a black shirt, adorned with a purple diamond on his forehead."Hey... Can I try to fight him? Ah, his power is so strong; I want to fight him!" said the female Zoturian with short hair, looking excited, smiling from ear to ear with flushed cheeks. She wore a yellow outfit that covered her entire body."Be patient, Cha-Cha... Remember, we can't interfere; it's not the right time yet," Sui'ra advised Cha-Cha."Oh come on, Sui'ra... We know from others that you're the one who's most involved with Mutants in Malaysia..." said Cha-Cha."Yes, I admit it. At first, the Mutants here were doing nothing significant... I had to make things interesting, but now they are evolving on their own," replied Sui'ra, a smile plastered on his face. The other four Zoturians now focused their attention on Sui'ra."Danielle's actions today will change humanity's view of Mutants globally; the conflict will force the Mutants to evolve, and Uhuj Far'ghi will choose more humans to become Mutants or Strays... Let's continue to watch together, my friends, the rise or complete destruction of Earth!" Sui'ra walked in front of the other Zoturians' holograms while raising his hand.