‎Fire raged around the two Talented, large plumes of smoke slowly rising into the cloudy afternoon sky.

What had started as a mere investigation had escalated into a full-blown war.

‎Norvax stood a short distance away from Candace, undaunted by her frightening show of power.

Behind him, a bit of a distance away, Alissa's body lay on the ground, obscured behind the veil of smoke from the inferno raging around them.

Despite the exponential scale of destruction around them, the mundane firefighters were nowhere to be seen.

Artifacts like the one the Crows had used, ridiculously expensive, truly showed their value at such moments. And to top it all up, the Praesagius hadn't had to lift a finger, so it wasn't even on their expense.

Well, technically speaking, they'd sent two agents, but still getting the Crows to use a rare resource on this scale was a win in the Norvax book.

Either they'd bankrupt the cabal, or at the very least, gain an understanding of how much wealth. And resources that the organization had access to.

For now, all Norvax had to do was finish off Candace and possibly stall for time while the reinforcements arrived.

At least he was going to try.

‎"Is this all you've got?" Norvax asked, his voice echoing across the dark expanse of destruction.

Norvax stood still, the flames reflecting on the silvery surface of his suit.

By now, most of the clothes he'd been wearing were torn beyond recognition, and other parts of them were burnt to a crisp, charred beyond recognition.

‎Candace stared at him, the light in her eyes glowing brighter at the taunt.

"He's trying to get into my mind and make me doubt myself," she thought.

"I can't allow that to happen."

‎Her chest rose and fell erratically from the strain of using her ability on such a large scale, her breath coming in quick, short bursts

‎And despite all the power she'd expended, her force was still standing tall.

‎Staring at Norvax standing there, Candace felt an unfamiliar emotion bubble up in her chest.

‎" What is this feeling?"

‎Small beads of sweat slowly rolled down her forehead, her heart pounding frantically in her chest.

‎Her chest felt heavy, and her breathing was quickly turning erratic.

‎Her eyes widened slightly in realization.

‎" This feeling... I've felt it before..."

In the subconscious of her mind, a peculiar memory resurfaced, drawing her back to a time past, before she'd met Jamil.

Back then, she'd been weak, helpless, and alone.

A dark figure rose in the recesses of her mind; the scene of destruction in reality overlapped with the memory in her mind.

Waves of the peculiar emotion rolled over her, scrambling her thought process.

‎Candace nervously swallowed, noticing that her mouth was dry.

‎" I'm afraid. This feeling it's fear. I'm actually afraid of this...this man..."

‎Candace finally realized what the feeling was.

And it was quite unsettling.

‎For the first time in a long time, she felt fear. She was afraid.

‎Letting out a frantic scream, Candace stumbled a few feet back.

‎"This can't be real. You're not real."

‎Blissfully oblivious of the multitude of conflicting emotions in her mind, Norvax let out a chuckle, continuing his walk toward her.

‎"Oops, I think I broke her. But I can't feel sorry for her. If Alissa's dead, it's because of her. And several other people, too.

The least she can do is stone for her frines and I'll see that through."

‎After a few steps, he abruptly came to a stop, trembling slightly.

‎Gazing down at his slightly trembling arm, Norvax frowned.

‎" That took a lot out of me."

‎Gritting his teeth, his gaze shifted to Candace's form, his eyes hardening.

‎" But I've to finish this."

‎Despite what Candace was seeing, Norvax was actually struggling.

‎He'd pushed the limits of his ability, dodging the projectiles that she'd been launching at him with the minutest movements, moving so fast that even a Talented like Candace couldn't keep up with his ridiculous speed.

‎

‎While he was moving, he continued redirecting the projectiles, just enough to protect Alissa's helpless form behind him.

‎Needless to say, using his ability at such a high level placed tremendous strain on his ability and body.

‎Which was why he was bluffing.

‎He was taking a gamble that Alissa didn't know how strained he was, while using the brief lull in action to recover his own strength.

‎With a scream, Candace hurled a large slab of rock through the air, lifting it high into the air, then launching it squarely into his path.

‎Blood poured from her nose and eyes in small streams, giving her a haunting appearance.

‎In that moment, Norvax humorously thought about how she resembled a goth hippie, with blood instead of mascara.

‎With a silent roar, he lunged forward, punching through the giant slab.

‎With a frightening crunch, the slab broke apart, falling into two pieces.

‎A heartbeat later, Norvax was barreling towards her, leaving a wave of destruction in his wake.

‎Waves of dust billowed from the ground, rising into the air from the meteoric impact of the two pieces of the giant slab.

‎As the dust settled, a small crater had formed at the point of impact.

‎Before Candace could move, Norvax was right in front of her.

‎A split second later, he slammed his fist into her solar plexus, lifting her off the ground.

‎Grinning slightly, he whispered.

‎" That hit the spot."

‎In the next moment, Candace flew backward, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

‎Candace spun through the hair, arresting her just as she neared the ground.

‎She landed on the ground in a crouch, tightly cradling her belly.

‎A moment later, she coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

‎Taking slow, nonchalant steps, Norvax arrived in front of her, silently staring down at her.

‎" Well, how does it feel to finally take on someone your own size?" he asked quietly.

‎Candace coughed violently, spitting out more bloodthann winced, grimacing in pain.

‎Norvax stared at her in silence, clenching his fists.

‎After a while, she glanced up at him, breaking into a bloody smile.

‎"What are you looking at? Are you waiting for an answer?"

‎Scoffing loudly, she spat at his feet.

‎" You bearing me doesn't change anything, your friend is still dead."

‎Rising to her feet, she smiled darkly.

‎" If she wasn't dead before, she certainly is now. While you were so focused on me, the debris from our fight must have crushed her body into a bloody pulp."

‎Grinning triumphantly, she haughtily flaunted her hair, her eyes gleaming with an ominous light.

‎"In the end, I'm the one who truly won this fight. And you lost everything. And you're certainly not getting that vault."

‎Norvax shrugged, getting into a fighting stance.

‎" You may be right about, who knows...but as far as I'm concerned, nothing is stopping me from wiping the ground with your ass. I may have lost a lot in this fight, but I'll live to fight again. You, on the other hand, this is where your life comes to an end."

‎Candace grinned, shaking her head slightly.

‎"Is that what you truly believe?"

‎Norvax silently remained in his fighting stance, ready to attack at the first opening.

‎Candace slowly shook her head, seemingly in disappointment.

‎"It seems I gave you more credit than you deserve."

‎With a shrill laugh, she spread her arms, gesturing at their surroundings.

‎"Look around you, Norvax."

‎A the dust settled, several glowing eyes in different shades and colours appeared through the dust.

‎Several Talented surrounded the two of them, and none of them was on his side.

‎" Well, this is certainly unfair," he muttered, fixing his gaze on Candace.

‎"Give it up, Norvax. You may be quite powerful, one of the strongest adversaries I've fought, I'll give you that."

‎Her smug smile grew even darker.

‎" But in the end, you're one man. While I have numbers on my side. So you're going to die alone and afraid."

‎With a confident smirk, she gestured, signalling to the other Talented.

‎Just as they started moving forward, she whispered.

‎" I win."

‎Just then, a massive explosion rocked the ground, sending most of the Talented stumbling.

‎In the next moment, an explosion of light rippled through the giant dome.

‎Norvax stared at the dome in disbelief.

‎His head whipped around at the sound of a hysterical scream.

‎" The artifact..." Candace whispered.

‎The pieces clicked in Norvax's head, a slow smile spreading across his face.

‎" They finally did it ."

‎ With a frenzied scream, Candace leaped toward him, her eyes burning with murderous rage.

‎" I'll kill you! I'll kill you all."

‎Following her lead, the rest of the Talented dashed towards Norvax in a mad dash with savage gleams in their eyes.

‎Just then, a massive figure plummeted from the sky, landing in front of him.

‎With almost exaggerated slowness, the man rose to his feet, staring at the Talented with a silent challenge in his eyes.

‎Norvax grinned slightly, letting out a sigh of relief. He realized then he'd been holding his breath.

‎" Took you long enough."

‎Jeff grinned slightly, raising his fists in a fighting stance.

‎" Allow me to take it from here."

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