[We have been discovered by Flame Guard.]
Before he could understand the meaning behind them, the words vanished once more, this time appearing in a blue text bubble on the chatbox. Only then did Brody realize what was happening.
"Brody?" Elias had watched his partner go pale before his eyes, but just as he was about to ask what happened, a faint clang caught his attention and he whipped his head in its direction, his hand held up as he prepared to swipe.
Someone was there, standing on the other side of the roof. If not for the faint sound he made upon his arrival, the two were sure neither of them would have noticed his presence.
He just stood there, menacingly. The costume he wore would have looked ridiculous any other time, but in a world where superheroes exist, it didn’t appear too strange. Most of it was skin-tight fabric, entirely black with a few lines of gray streaking its contour. Dark gray plating covered the chest, arms, and legs, each of its segmented parts granting the suit of armor a sharpness that seemed to constantly cut the surroundings. Then there was the helmet.
The helmet had the same dark gray color as the metallic plating and was triangular in shape, with a sharp back that pointed up. A V-shaped visor decorated the front, and from its depth, an ominous red glowed, visible even in the bright noon.
Seeing the stranger and the armor he wore, Brody instantly realized what was happening. He placed his phone back into his pocket as Elias got up from his seat, and just as they readied themselves, the armored stranger leaned forward, his posture suggesting that he was about to lunge. Then, he burst forward.
The distance between them vanished in an instant, but Brody was able to react, mana already channeled into his hand as he swiped at the space before him. Air shimmered and solidified, forming a translucent barrier in the path of the armor fist flying toward his face. Brody instinctively understood that the barrier would only be able to slow it, which is why he tilted his head to the left just as the cracks began to spread.
Though it was hastily constructed, the air barrier should have been able to stop bullets. Despite that, it shattered the instant it made contact with the armored fist, scattering shards of glass-like material that disintegrated into nothingness.
If that fist had collided with his head, Brody was sure that would have been the end for him. He dropped to the floor, rolling to his knees before swiping with both of his hands and creating a double-layered barrier, but the follow-up he was expecting never came.
The armored stranger had changed his target, pivoting on his left foot as he jumped, spinning his body in the air and sending a roundhouse kick straight to Elias who raised his arms just in time to block what would have been a fatal blow.
Gritting his teeth, Brody dismissed the air barrier with a thought and swung both of his arms once more, channeling his mana to perform a different Art. Instead of a translucent glass wall, ten cone-shaped spikes took form above him before shooting out like a salvo of missiles.
The timing should have been perfect, leaving their target no chance to block or evade, and yet they still missed somehow. Instead of landing on his feet, the armored stranger allowed his body to drop to the floor, placing his hands on its surface then spinning his entire body like a top.
Elias tucked his legs just in time to evade the low kick, but the armored stranger used the force behind it to lift his body, pushing himself off the ground and spinning in the air as he brought another kick down, this time on Brody instead.
Each move was flawlessly chained, barely giving the duo a chance to adjust. Brody channeled mana into his arm and raised them to block only to feel as if a sledgehammer was brought down at him on his unarmored body. Though the physical enhancement he granted himself prevented any bones from breaking, it wasn’t enough to completely negate the damage.
Pain was nothing to concern himself about, so the instant he was sure his arms were intact, he pushed back the armored leg and released his guard, quickly reaching up and grabbing it. Even without him saying anything, his partner was already preparing to make use of the opening he created, a salvo of cone-shaped missiles shimmering into existence.
Elias’s dark blue hair fluttered behind him as he swiped down, commanding the missiles to rain down. With Brody holding him in place, their assailant had no way to evade. Forced into a corner, he twisted his body and brought his forearms together, guarding his chest and head.
The air missiles shattered against the dark gray plating of his gauntlets, not leaving a single scratch behind. As the glass-like fragments faded into the air, he broke his guard and exploded into movements, once again twisting his body to kick at Brody and freeing himself before pushing off the ground with both arms, launching himself in the air and distancing himself.
The moment of respite was welcomed by the two Stahlkorps members. With their eyes still locked on the assailant, they channeled their mana and went about activating several arts, enhancing their physical attributes and preparing for the next round.
"Attacking us out of nowhere like that," Elias spoke, trying to gather some intel while buying them extra time. "Who are you? And who sent you?"
The strange assailant offered no response, the ominous glow behind his visor remaining unchanged. He just stood there for an instant, completely motionless, then lowered his posture and placed his hands on the floor, raising his lower back as if preparing to sprint.
Both Brody and Elias braced themselves, already done with their preparations. The tension reached its peak as the clash seemed inevitable, and as if to offer a signal, a massive boom sounded from behind them, startling the two in black suits.
In their moment of distraction, the assailant kicked the ground and crossed the distance between him and Brody.