"I was going to let you keep yapping about me, but after you spoke ill of my parents, I have just gone and lost it.
So prepare to die!" Jasmine’s voice was surprisingly cool and at the same time cold as she said that. Her tone carried both a chilling promise and a fury that seemed barely restrained.
"Yo... you..." the man stuttered for a few seconds but was forced to regain his composure again as Jasmine had already darted towards him with blinding speed.
Faster than she had ever moved before, and in a flash, she was directly in front of him. A powerful hook came from the side aimed at his head with such brutal force that the very air crackled as though reality itself shivered under the power of her strike.
"Fuck!" The man mumbled under his breath as he immediately brought his sword up into the fist’s path. The steel met flesh just in time, the impact shaking him violently.
The deafening bang echoed aloud, rattling his bones to the marrow. The impact sent the man skidding metres away, his heels carving deep trenches into the ground as he struggled to steady himself. His hands trembled uncontrollably, his grip on the sword nearly slipping from the raw vibration.
Even after separating from the punch, his arms continued rattling, feeling almost numb.
But he had no time to recover because Jasmine had already dashed forward again. Her figure blurred, and an uppercut came screaming towards him with devastating force.
As if sensing imminent death, the man instantly sidestepped, avoiding the uppercut by the skin of his teeth.
Relief barely had time to wash over him before Jasmine twisted mid-motion, her leg whipping across the air like a hammer. A brutal kick slammed directly into his abdomen.
Blood sprayed violently from his mouth as his eyes bulged wide, his whole body sent flying helplessly into the distance like a ragdoll.
"Oh, I’m not yet done with you!" Jasmine roared as she leaped into the air, appearing directly above the hurtling human. Without hesitation, she brought her leg down, an axe kick crashing into his abdomen with the full weight of her rage.
His body smashed into the ground with soul-crushing force, the earth beneath collapsing into a wide crater. Blood spurted from his mouth in great heaves, and the crash sent shockwaves through the field.
Dust and debris exploded outward, choking the air and filling his nose and vision. He could neither see nor smell anything, only coughing violently as more blood poured from his lips.
For several seconds, he remained lost in the suffocating haze before he managed to gather himself.
Slowly, the dust settled, and the man staggered to his feet, his sword still clutched weakly in his trembling hand. His knees wobbled, his face pale, but he stood regardless, driven by raw desperation.
Though the haze was clearing, his vision was still slightly blurred, and the pressure in his chest refused to fade.
’What the hell suddenly happened to her? How did she get such a massive surge in both speed and strength?! Wait... her eyes... they were glowing, and even her fists! What the fuck is she?! I thought she was just a human. Then what is she really?’ he thought with knitted brows, his heart racing as unease spread through his body.
"What happened? Cat got your tongue? Don’t you have the guts to insult someone’s parents again?" Jasmine’s voice rang out, echoing from every direction.
It slithered through the dust and empty air, making it impossible for him to pinpoint her position. His head whipped around in frantic jerks, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to track her movements.
A solid kick slammed into his chest with a thunderous crack, lifting him clean off his feet and hurling him far out of the dusty haze. His body soared before crashing across the ground.
He coughed violently, blood splattering everywhere, but before he could be flung farther, he stabbed his sword into the earth, screeching it to a halt. The ground tore beneath him, trenches splitting as sparks flew from the blade.
As he stood shakily, Jasmine’s glowing white eyes locked onto him from the edge of the crater. He didn’t hesitate, immediately swinging his sword upward in a vicious slash towards her form.
The blade screamed through the air, but Jasmine stepped lightly to the side, dodging with effortless grace. In the same moment, the man’s boot lashed out, slamming into her torso. She grunted as her body was sent skidding across the dirt for several inches, but she quickly dug her heels in to halt the slide.
"Fuck your power-up! It’s totally useless if you can’t defeat me!" The man roared as he lunged forward, charging at Jasmine with the force of a raging bull.
"And who said I can’t defeat you?" Jasmine retorted, her glowing eyes narrowing dangerously as she stared at his charging form.
"Just because I’m toying with you doesn’t mean I can’t beat the shit out of you. You know what? Fuck you!" she shouted, her fury boiling over as the man swung his sword at her neck with murderous intent.
In a burst of speed, she immediately ducked down, avoiding the swing that sliced through the air with a loud shing.
From her crouched position, she launched upward with a brutal punch that smashed into his side, ribs cracking with an audible crunch that echoed like splintering wood.
The man was sent reeling, his body twisting mid-air, but Jasmine paid no mind to the sound of breaking bones. Unknown to her, the glow surrounding her fists was beginning to flicker, fading in and out like a dying flame.
She didn’t notice, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have cared. The only thing on her mind was the enemy in front of her. With a sharp frown on her face, she darted after him, her figure blurring until she appeared directly at his side once again.
’It... it’s like I’m fighting two different people,’ the man thought in the last fleeting moment of clarity. His eyes widened in dread as Jasmine’s hand suddenly clamped over his face. A heartbeat later, she slammed him down with terrifying force.
The ground beneath them collapsed as if struck by a meteor. The man’s body was driven deep into the earth, his eyes rolling back instantly as consciousness fled. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his limbs went limp, defeated without any chance to resist.
Immediately after his body stilled, the white glow in Jasmine’s eyes faltered, flickering like a candle struggling against the wind.
But before it could vanish completely, her gaze shifted sharply. She saw, just a few meters away, Jim being battered around like a ragdoll by his opponent. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novèlfire.net
During the ten seconds of the paralysis effect earlier, Jim had managed to land a few solid blows. He tried his absolute best to capitalize on the opening, desperate to end the fight. But the moment the paralysis ended, the tide shifted violently.
Now, despite the lingering boost from Max’s roar, Jim was still being overwhelmed. Cuts and bruises littered his body, blood dripping from his forehead and mouth.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, each breath ragged and painful. He lay helplessly on the ground, battered from head to toe, unable to rise. The enemy loomed above him, his fist raised high, ready to deliver the finishing strike.
Something inside Jasmine stirred. Acting on nothing but raw instinct, she swung her fist through the air with every ounce of strength she had left. A blinding white glow erupted from her knuckles, blasting outward like a compressed shockwave.
The energy shot across the battlefield and smashed into Jim’s attacker with the force of a gorilla’s punch, sending the man crumpling to the ground in a heap. He was knocked out cold in an instant, his body twitching once before going still.
And right on cue, the glow in Jasmine’s eyes flickered once more before vanishing entirely. The radiant light on her fists dissolved as if it had never been there.
All that remained was exhaustion. Her strength drained away in an instant, her legs buckled, and she collapsed face-first into the dirt, heaving and panting.
’Th... that wasn’t me! It felt like my body was taken over for a minute there. What was that boost I felt? The raw strength, the speed, the sheer attack power.
Was I wrong all this time? Am I... am I also a hybrid and not human? But my parents told me that I’m a human, so how the hell did I just do all that? S... so... something is wrong somewhere...’ Jasmine’s thoughts slurred into incoherence as her eyes fluttered shut.
Her consciousness slipped away.