‎" What the hell is going on?!"

‎Norvax stared at the unmoving, bewildered Talented in shock. All around him, none of the Talented moved.

‎It seemed like time itself had frozen.

‎Glancing at the man walking in front of him, he mentally shuddered.

‎The man's feet levitated a few centimetres off the ground, not quite touching it.

‎His eyes blazed with ethereal light, sporadic bursts of it spuklingvfrojnthr depths of his eyes from time to time.

‎Summoning his courage, Norvax asked the question that had been on his mind for a while.

‎" How are you doing this? What rank are you?"

‎Carlisle glanced back at him with a smile.

‎" To answer both your questions, I have no idea.

‎Norvax Neely fell flat on his face then.

‎" What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why are you helping me?"

‎Carlisle shrugged.

‎" I owe it to Alissa, and technically, this is her power not mine."

‎Norvax's mouth fell open in shock.

‎" What is that even supposed to mean? The things you're doing, you have to be at least Class A-6. Alissa is a class A-5. So what you're saying doesn't even make sense."

‎Carlisle smirked, a mischievous light shining in his eyes.

‎" Well, I'm here, aren't I? And even though I should be dead, I saved your life."

‎Norvax stumbled then, tripping over a stray piece of concrete.

‎" You're not making any sense. You're supposed to be dead?"

‎Carlisle smiled in amusement at the bewildered expression on his face.

‎" Yeah, about that, technically speaking, in that guy she's been talking to."

‎Norvax silently pursed his lips, staring at the man in front of him.

‎His eyes widened slightly, suddenly noticing the small discrepancies in the man's appearance.

‎Carlisle's skin was slightly translucent; his clothes and hair fluttering slightly in a ghostly wind.

‎And worse still, he didn't appear on the suit's readings.

‎A split second later, Carlisle abruptly came to a stop, the easy-going smile on his face vanishing entirely.

‎Norvax came to a stop as well.

‎" What's wrong? What's the matter?"

‎Carlisle's eyes hardened, an ominous light gleaning in their depths.

‎His voice took on a tone of urgency.

‎" It's Alissa, she's in trouble. We need to get to her now. You need to be ready to step in."

‎Norvax shot him a surprised look.

‎" What about you?"

‎"Rescuing you took up a lot of power, power that I hardly understand. If I stay here, there's a chance that she could die."

‎Carlisle turned to Norvax, his lips curling up into a wry smile.

‎" The best I can do is get you to where she is."

‎Norvax realized in horror that Carlisle's form was turning even more translucent by the minute.

‎In the next moment, he wordlessly walked up to Norvax, placing his ghostly hand on his shoulder.

‎In the next instant, the two of them disappeared, reappearing a few places away from where Candace stood over Alissa.

‎Carlisle's form turned vaguer, fading away in whisps of light.

‎Alissa turned, staring at him in disbelief, the glow in her eyes dimming, then fading.

‎And with it, Carlisle's figure disappeared entirely.

‎Just then, Candace's eyes glowed. In the next instant, a stream of flames erupted from her palms, washing over Alissa's form.

‎Alissa screamed, helplessly flailing around in the searing inferno.

‎With a murderous roar, Norvax burst forward, the ground cracking in the wake of his terrible speed.

‎A sonic boom roiled forward from the force of his movements, just as he surpassed the speed of sound.

‎Instinctively, Candace gathered a wall of force around herself, turning it into a makeshift shield without letting up on the intensity of the flames.

‎" Rats, I hate rats," she murmured, staring down at the writhing girl.

‎A mad gleam appeared in her eyes, the dancing flames reflecting eerily in their depths.

‎" And eventually, they get burnt."

‎A heartbeat later, Norvax's fist slammed into the makeshift shield.

‎An explosion of light and sound washed over the surrounding area, rupturing the earth and flattening the remaining structures.

‎A cloud debris shot into the air, and from within the unfolding wave of destruction, a human body violently hurtled out, bouncing a few times on the ground like a ragdoll before coming to a stop.

‎Candace groaned, slowly rising to her feet.

‎Blood flowed freely down her face, and her right arm was a mangled mess of bone and flesh.

‎She bit back a scream, her vision going white from the pain radiating through her body.

‎" Well, I'll be damned."

‎Candace forced out a crooked smile, then awkwardly choked, spitting out a mixture of blood and teeth onto the ground.

‎She was quite sure he shield would hold, but that man was truly something else.

‎" I see why Aisha brought him in."

‎She stood waiting,a nd she didn't have to wait for long.

‎A familiar silver, armoured figure stepped out of the smoke, carrying a limp body in his hands.

‎The man stood still, staring at her for a while, then shifted his gaze to her, watching her in silence for a few moments.

‎

‎From this distance, she couldn't quite see the state of the woman's body, but she could very well imagine it, after all, there were very few things that could withstand the scorching heat of her flames.

‎And so she was quite sure he was holding a charred mess of flesh in his hands.

‎The girl was done for. She'd made quite sure of it.

‎Because of the visor in his face, Candace couldn't see the conflicting emotions on his face, but she was quite sure she'd royally pissed him off.

‎After all, he'd damn near smacked her into the afterlife.

‎But that was alright. In fact, anger was good. After all, foes that fought in the frenzied throes of a ger tended to make the most mistakes. In the end, everything was still going to work out for her.

‎After a while, he calmly placed down the girl, with evident care.

‎" Here he comes now."

‎With her hand hanging limply at her side, Candace raised her other hand, raising a second barrier around her. With visible effort, she raised her hand, manipulating the debris around her.

‎Using her ability on such a large scale placed a tremendous strain on her mind.

‎Within seconds, she could literally feel the numerous projectiles at her disposal.

‎Shards of debris, metal, and concrete, waiting to answer her call at the slightest thought.

‎Candace grinned ominously.

‎"This is just the best."

‎Despite her expectations, Norvax did not rush into the battle.

‎ Almost as though he did not consider her a threat, Norvax nonchalantly strolled across the battlefield.

‎ The armored figure slowly walked across the ruined ground, almost as though he was daring her, silently challenging her to do her worst.

‎" Is he actually serious?"

‎Candace stared at him, a flicker of confusion flashing through her eyes for a brief moment, then she snarled.

‎With a shout, she mentally hurled several projectiles at the man.

‎Without breaking pace, he continued his walk towards her, seemingly unbothered by the hail of death rushing towards him.

‎Candace growled then, literally shaking with fury.

‎" So he's ignoring it, huh?"

‎Her eyes burned with murderous rage.

‎"Let's see if he can continue ignoring them once his body is blasted to smithereens."

‎She could already picture the small projectile ripping through the suit and turning the man within into a bloody paste.

‎However, despite her expectations, nothing of that sort happened.

‎Instead, Norvax continued his advance, the projectiles seemingly passing through him, causing several small explosions all around the ruin.

‎Candace gasped at the sight, her eyes widening slightly in shock and disbelief. "What the hell is going on? Does he have another ability that allows him to phase through things? But right now, he must be exhausted. Using a secondary ability would put considerable strain on his psyche."

‎Candace grinned wickedly, laughing manically.

‎"I'll just have to tire him out then."

‎After increasing the intensity and frequency of her attacks, the area around the two Talented soon flattened and levelled beyond recognition.

‎Despite the murderous barrage of successive attacks, Norvax continued to walk towards her, unfazed and unbothered. clad in the silver suit, he resembled an unyielding avenger, completely hell bent on carrying out his purpose.

Eventually, he came to a stop a few feet away from the seemingly deranged woman. Candace glared at him wearily, clenching and unclenching her fist repeatedly, in frustration.

" Why won't he die?"

This was a first for her. In all the time she'd spent in the Crows, there had never been anyone or anything that she'd failed to kill once she'd set her mind to it, and yet unbelievably, the man in front of her refused to die.

Is he even a man at this point? It was like the silver armoured figure was a phantom sent from the depths of hell to hunt her, and it was getting on her nerves. Who are you? Why won't you die?"

Norvax chuckled, then laughed and stared at her silently.

" I'm an avenger. I have a score to settle with you, and I won't rest until that debt is paid."

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