-BEN-

  Ben watched Blaze collapse. His partner fell to the ground with a smile on his face.

  You couldn't go one mission without nearly killing yourself, Ben thought as he looked at Blaze's prone body. The subtle rise and fall of Blaze's shoulders reassured Ben that his partner was alive.

  Blaze had transformed into the Oscillan. Ben could tell from the pattern of destruction in the room, but he doubted Blaze had intentionally brought out that monstrosity.

  Ben had been there the first time Blaze transformed into it. It had happened at the end of a mission gone wrong. They were supposed to have been protecting a dignitary from an assassination plot. They succeeded in protecting the dignitary, but not his family. Blaze had wept bitterly as he stood over the bodies of the man’s children. He blamed himself. He cried and cried, and then he transformed into the Oscillan.

  What followed had been an hours-long battle across the face of the planet. The only thing that had saved them had been the presence of a Stellar Authority General: Fen. She had matched the Oscillan’s vibrational powers with her Vector Force. Even then, she might not have been successful if Ben hadn’t been there to support. It also helped that her powers were similar to those of the Oscillan. That was one of the reasons Ben wanted to master the Vector Force: to protect Blaze.

  Since that incident, Ben and Blaze had agreed to a simple rule: never bring out the Oscillan. Fen had suggested they modify the rule to say ‘Don’t bring out the Oscillan until Blaze has mastered it.’ However, Ben and Blaze disagreed. They didn’t want to see the Oscillan ever again.

  Blaze would have had to have been up against a terrible opponent to have, even unintentionally, brought out the Oscillan.

  Right now, that terrible opponent stood about 50 feet away from Ben. Blaze's body lay between them.

  The man was a Chintari male dressed in black armour. Ben was pleased to see that Blaze had left his mark on the man. It hadn’t been a one-sided fight. The Chintari man’s red eyes were wide and wild. His hair was matted with blood and his armour was cracked in several places.

  Ben realised that he would have to kill the man. It was that simple. There was no negotiation here. He could tell that this was not the kind of opponent who allowed himself to be captured for interrogation.

  However, Ben needed to take care of some things first. He walked towards Blaze's body, keeping his eyes on the Chintari man the entire time. He was mildly surprised when the villain didn't attack him.

  Instead the man hung back and watched Ben walk to Blaze.

  ‘Was that respect?’ Ben wondered. Or was the Chintari man just taking time to analyse the situation and understand Ben's capabilities? Ben got to Blaze’s side and squatted. He fished out one of his two healing packs from his pocket, and administered one pack, a quick injection, into Blaze's neck.

  Blaze sighed softly and continued his quiet breathing. The healing pack would do its work. It would accelerate the healing of his tissues. The process would take some time, but Ben was confident Blaze would recover.

  While that was happening, he faced another problem: Where to keep Blaze’s body so that it was safe. The Chintari man had been charitable so far, but Ben was certain the man would not simply stand by and watch as he carried Blaze's body back to the ship.

  What to do then...

  A scuttling sound caught his attention. Some rubble shifted a few feet away from him, and a tattooed hand poked out and patted the ground, looking for firm purchase.

  Ben watched as the Priestess extricated herself from the rubble. She was battered and bruised, and her overcoat was in tatters and layered with dust. Ben saw blood beneath her finger nails. He would have felt sorry for her, but when he looked in her eyes he saw fiery determination.

  Good, he thought. She's a fighter. Suddenly the air shifted and Ben felt his hackles raise. He moved entirely on instinct, dashing towards the Priestess and making it in time to intercept the rushing Chintari villain.

  Ben caught the villain by his sword arm, stopping a stab that had been destined to split the Priestess’ head. The tip of the sword quivered mere centimeters away from the Priestess' eye.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The villain grunted in frustration.

  Ben could feel the warmth of the man’s body next to him. Acting on instinct again, Ben twisted the villain's wrist, causing the man to drop his blade. Then he leaned back and kicked the man in the abdomen, sending him flying.

  Ben used the time he had created to speak to the Priestess. "Get Blaze," Ben said to her. She nodded and ran to Blaze's body. Blaze was several times larger than her but she made it look fairly easy, deftly lifting him up and draping him over her shoulder.

  She must have used mana reinforcement, Ben thought. Thank goodness. She at least had some magic. That might protect her.

  He watched the Priestess leave the area, then turned his attention to the villain. The kick didn't seem to have fazed the Chintari man.

  The man gestured, and the sword he had dropped shifted and flew in his hand. Then the Chintari man pulled out another blade. This one was red. He brandished both blades at Ben, and gestured for Ben to attack him.

  Okay then, Ben thought. He whispered, "Activate Gladiator Mode."

  The air around his body shimmered as the mode loaded. He felt the familiar weight of his sword fall in his right hand, and his shield on his left.

  Ben charged. As he flew across the rubble, the villain cut through the air and launched a fireball at him. Ben dodged to the left then smashed his shield into the villain's torso. He simultaneously released some of the Vector Force on the shield, and it pushed the villain back. The man crashed into a nearby wall, and Ben followed after him. The man thrust his sword forward wildly. Ben danced around it easily.

  He saw an opening and slashed at the Chintari man’s sword arm, aiming to relieve the villain of it. However, the man twisted away just in time.

  They exchanged a few more blows, weapons clanging against each other, and it became very clear that the villain was fighting to gain distance.

  He is likely trying to find time to launch more fire, Ben thought. No problem. I'll give you your distance.

  Ben reduced the ferocity of his attacks, and the Chintari man instantly took advantage. The man jumped backwards but this was all part of Ben’s trap.

  Ben channeled his energy into the shield, building up Vector Force there. As the Chintari man slashed the air with his red blade, Ben fired his own attack.

  "Dissecting wave."

  When giving the mental directives to form Gladiator Mode, Ben had planned to do the dissecting wave with his sword. The unfortunate failure of the mode to form properly forced him to improvise.

  He focused the Vector Force in the shield to a narrow point along the rim. He then sliced the air with the shield, leaving a trail of blue light which expanded into a wave of energy. The wave flew at the Chintari man and hit him in his right arm, slicing it off instantly.

  The Chintari man stared at the stub, stunned. His severed hand fell to the ground, still clutching his blade. The man stumbled backwards. He still had the red blade in his left hand, and that meant he was still a threat.

  Ben leapt forward and thrust his sword at the man. He was looking to stab the unaware villain in the heart, but the Chintari man found the presence of mind to take even more steps back. Ben continued to chase him. Ben planted his feet and slashed downwards. His blow struck the red blade, causing it to fall out of the man’s hand.

  Ben quickly stepped on the dropped sword, and watched as the Chintari man retreated further.

  The dissecting wave had shaved away a larger chunk of Ben’s mana than he had expected. That combined with his previous use of the reflector shield meant that his mana reserves were beginning to run low.

  The Chintari man held out his left hand. His first blade scuttled along the ground, then flew into his outstretched hand. Ben watched in fascination as the man stabbed himself in what remained of his right arm.

  His right arm jerked slightly and then the skin around the stub began to proliferate. The new flesh fused together, Ben even saw bone forming within. The Chintari man’s right hand regenerated perfectly.

  It wasn't without cost though. The man sagged. His breaths became heavier, and he continued to keep his distance. That healing move had likely cost him a lot of mana.

  Ben bent down and picked up the red blade. It seemed the Chintari man did not have the ability to recall this one. The first blade was dangerous, but this one had significant fire power. Literally.

  It would serve Ben well to get rid of it.

  "Assimilate," Ben said.

  A shimmering light enveloped the sword and it disintegrated. The assimilation took another chunk of Ben’s remaining mana. He needed to end this fight soon.

  "What did you do?!" The Chintari man screamed.

  Instead of responding, Ben attacked. He swung to kill but the man continued to evade. Any weakness that had come from healing his arm seemed to have been made up for by his blinding rage. The man counterattacked with greater ferocity than before.

  "That blade was a symbol of my people's hate," the man cried. "It was forged with my people's blood. What did you do with it?"

  Ben saw an opening and smashed his shield into the man's nose.

  As the Chintari fell, Ben thrust the blade towards the man's chest. A lump of flesh suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked Ben.

  It leapt on Ben’s sword arm, and Ben felt many sharp things scraping at his skin. Whatever it was, it wasn’t powerful enough to break through his mana reinforcement.

  Ben grabbed the thing and observed it.

  It was a tiny monster, made of bluish flesh. It had multiple rows of teeth and misshapen eyes. Skinny arms and legs jutted out of it, each of which was tipped with sharp claws. Ben grimaced as he looked at the thing. He wasn’t sure he had seen anything uglier before. It was, however, very weak and basically harmless.

  Ben lifted his sword and killed it. The Chintari man had used the distraction to get to his feet. His eyes were wide as he watched Ben casually throw the carcass of the little monster to the ground.

  The Chintari man lifted his eyes to Ben. "I hate you," the man whispered. "I hate all of you. You killed my family. You killed them over and over again."

  Ben was beginning to grow weary of the fight. His mana was low and he didn’t think he would be able to take any more surprises. He lowered his shield and activated Brawler Mode.