CHAPTER 48: FULL ATTACK

Ace kicked off hard, his Sprinter’s Stride node kicked in, and he sprinted toward Marko. He caught up in a few breaths. It felt like seconds.

The Conductor looked far, but they were close together. Death was close.

"Don Capo?! Why?!" Marko asked.

"Because I am Don Capo," Ace said, looking up at the Conductor’s horse and its cold zero eyes. "The Heavens suck. Been there. I’ll never let my friends go there. Gates, multiverse. This hell fits us better. Back to the others. Now. I’m saying this as Don Capo, not your friend."

Marko’s tears spilled, streaking down his face. "Y-Yeah!"

Biting his lip, he turned and ran, obeying his boss. The stillness broke when the Conductor’s horse whistled its distinct note. It vanished in front of Ace and reappeared behind Marko.

"You think I wouldn’t see that coming?" Ace said. His left hand gripped his silver bow; his right drew the string taut.

Armament cocooned the arrow, hardening the tip into a blunt head. He released. The shot skimmed under the horse’s frame, struck Marko’s back, and shoved him forward. Marko rolled and bought himself space from the Conductor.

Ace dropped the bow, unsheathed his daggers, and kicked off toward the Conductor. He closed the distance fast and layered Armament over the blades. He thrust with his dominant hand.

On contact with the horse’s armor, the dagger shattered into tiny shards and the rebound numbed his whole arm. He got what he wanted.

The Conductor gave up on Marko and turned. The horse glared down at Ace.

Ace glared back and revealed his status.

[Rank One Ace Avalanche.]

"You’re stuck with me until my friends are out of this domain," he said.

The horse reared and threatened to smash its front hooves into his skull. Ace somersaulted backward, then dropped into his stance. Armament formed a new dagger, much weaker than the Claw in his left hand.

Aish!

"I know. He’s coming."

Armament—Arms.

His forearms darkened as he packed every drop of ink into them. He banked on sheer density of mana and ink to harden the Armament.

The undead horse slammed into him, ripped him off his feet, and tossed him aside. He tumbled and felt both arms go dead. The dagger clattered away.

My bones aren’t broken, but this numbness...

He forced himself upright. The horse was already there, lowering its head to his eye level.

Cold light flashed from its eyes. It snapped its head toward him.

Armament—Vest!

He poured Armament into the vest he’d looted. It was his only defense, and he bet everything on it. The vest turned black and stiffened.

It didn’t matter. The blow broke the vest and his ribs. He flew again and slammed into a tree. He coughed up more than a mouthful of blood and slid down the bark.

The pain and warm, metallic taste cleared his head. Feeling returned to his arms, and Ace pushed himself up.

Above him, Cherry cried. Scarlet tears beaded and sank into the cuts on his scalp. He realized they were blood.

His passive had triggered.

[Apex Engine IV]

[The Fourth • Node – Sanguine Graft: Uses absorbed fluids to harden muscle fibers, boosting power and endurance.]

"Don’t cry, Cherry. Your tears are blood. If you can give me more in a different way, do it. Also, don’t let my blood spill. Keep it in me. I need endurance."

Okay!

Blood poured from the little slime, and the effect hit at once.

His body absorbed it immediately, hardening muscle and boosting his stats. As a passive, the effect persisted, but his body had limits.

He couldn’t hold all that blood forever. Crimson veins crawled across his skin. His eyes glowed crimson.

He kept the Drowned traits and Armament visuals to a minimum. Ink pooled inside him, ready to move where he needed it most.

They stayed calm and gave him time to boost. It was arrogance, but the strong often acted like that. No surprise.

"Good job, Cherry. We can do this," Ace said.

Yesh!

Cherry flapped its wings. It shrank to a berry-sized blob on Ace’s head. Manageable. Only survival mattered.

"I’m ready, Conductor," Ace said.

The Conductor shook the reins. The horse reared and slammed down with its wheeze.

The fight resumed.

The undead horse roared and closed the distance fast. He’d said at the start he couldn’t dodge that rush at his current level. Now he had a way to take the hit and convert it to advantage.

The hit broke through his defenses again and threatened to rupture his chest. He clenched his teeth and endured. Because he’d stayed by the tree, the blow lifted him and dragged him along the bark. It pitched him up and over the horse. Landing alongside it, he formed an Armament dagger in his right hand and drove it into the horse’s eye socket, half the blade sinking in.

The horse screamed and reared.

Ace hit the ground hard, pushed up, and formed another dagger in his left hand. With the chest armor exposed, he counterattacked. He drove his Armament dagger into the armor, and the dagger shattered. He stabbed again. The dagger shattered.

He kept forming daggers, then ditched the idea fast. He switched to his fists.

Armament—Fists!

[Brawler II

• Node — Unarmed punches deal +15% damage; hand pain −25%.

• Node — Taekwondo Kicks: Spinning & hook kicks; kicks deal +15% damage.

• Node — Power Chain: Each consecutive hit within 3 s adds +6% damage (up to +30%). Resets on miss or after 3 s idle.

• Node — Iron Body: Incoming blunt/impact damage −20%; hand & foot pain −50%.]

He set his stance and punched into the chest armor. His hand burst, skin and flesh peeling away. Blood swirled around his hand and flowed back into him. He filled the missing flesh with Ink.

He threw a second punch. The same pain tore through him.

It’s nothing. Losing all of you hurt more.

"Argh!"

He hammered the armor. Plates rattled. Blood smeared the metal.

Screw the Heavens. Screw the Multiverse. I won’t run. I won’t let it happen again.

Crack!

A small crack opened in the horse’s armor. Ace roared and punched into it. A second crack spread. He slammed everything he had into the weak point. Broken plate fell at his feet, and the horse’s black hide showed.

Suffer!

He maniacally grinned and drove his fist into the gap. The blow met a fresh plate, and his eyes widened in surprise.