“Yes, we will!” Leo exclaims.
“We’re not going to make it!” Victor shouts again.
“We’re almost there!” Chiyo cries out.
The wave’s shadow covers the entire boat. Victor stands up and keeps his eyes on the surf as it’s about to crash down upon them. He throws his arms out and pulls them back into his center. He uses Air Magic to pull Chiyo, and the two geishas close to him and Leo. Seconds before the water crashes down, Victor spins his arms out in a circular formation. The wave comes crashing down, destroying the boat.
When the ripples start to calm down, bubbles begin to break the water’s surface. A giant bubble shoots out of the water, with Victor and the others inside. While floating in the air, Leo notices two figures dressed in black at the dock. A tall warlock and a short-haired witch use their Water Magic to try to drown Victor and the others. Chiyo sees another wave coming at them, but before she can react, the wave crashes down on them.
Victor does everything he can to keep the bubble afloat and to keep it from bursting. As another wave comes their way, Victor watches as it grows taller than the previous ones. He turns around and starts to focus, causing his eyes to shine a bright blue. Victor looks up as he twists his torso and lowers one of his hands with his palm turned downward. With his other hand, he creates a cloud swirling around, maintaining the bubble’s levitation.
Victor scoops his lower hand over his head, mimicking the wave’s curve. The witch and warlock look at each other, puzzled, wondering who’s controlling the tide. They try to regain their control, but Victor has overpowered them. Victor looks over his shoulder, spins around, and aims the wave toward the dock.
The witch and warlock panic and try to run away. The warlock summons an earth spell as soon as the wave crashes down on them, creating a protective dome from the brick and dirt they are standing on. Victor floats the bubble down on the shore and lets it vanish. He pays no attention to the others as he walks to the dirt dome.
“Is everyone okay?” Leo asks as he helps the women off the ground.
Chiyo and her geisha nod as they smooth out their kimonos. Leo looks around and spots Victor approaching the dome. The glow in Victor’s eyes begins to fade. As Victor steps closer, he is knocked back with a chunk of dirt.
“Victor!” Leo shouts as he runs over to him. He helps Victor back on his feet. They look over and notice the witch and warlock dusting the dirt off themselves.
“That empath is coming with us dead or alive,” the witch demands. “So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to come willingly or by force?”
Victor sneers back, brushing the dirt off his sleeves. “I’m not coming willingly, so it looks like I choose by force.”
The witch tilts her head to the side, glaring at Victor. “Have it your way.”
The warlock jumps high over the witch and tries to land a punch on Victor and Leo. They dodge his attack, causing the warlock to punch his fist on the ground. The force from the warlock was so strong that it destroys most of the sidewalk.
“It’s not safe for you. Go and get help,” Chiyo orders her geisha. They nod and scurry away quickly. Chiyo begins hurling ice knives at the witch to keep her distracted. The witch dodges Chiyo’s attacks and blocks the blades by making a shield out of concrete.
The warlock throws a boulder the size of a car at Victor. Victor pulls the water out of the boulder, causing it to dry and turn into a big pile of sand. In return, he creates his own ice boulder and flings it at the warlock.
Chiyo and the witch throw makeshift weapons at each other. The witch gives Chiyo a devilish grin. “Let’s fight as you’re supposed to in Japan.” The witch creates a largekatanasword with earth and concrete.
Chiyo conjures a massive hammer out of solid ice. The ice is so cold that Chiyo’s hands turn red from frostbite. Icicles cover her knuckles and the backs of her hands. They charge, ready to hurl their weapons at one another.
As the fighting progresses, Victor gets close enough to the warlock to punch him with a frozen fist, busting open thewarlock’s lip. The warlock takes his fingertips and presses down on the cut. He looks at his fingertips covered in blood, then proceeds to lick the blood off.
“So, you wanna play like that, huh?” the warlock says to Victor. “All right, then let’s play like that.” He turns his fists into concrete hammers and starts throwing punches.
Victor remembers his boxing training from his workouts, even though he’s not a boxer. But he’s able to miss most of the warlock’s punches. Leo jumps in and kicks the warlock in the back, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. This gives Victor the advantage to uppercut the warlock. The warlock flies backward.
Leo gets distracted when the witch tries to attack him with her sword. Leo sidesteps just before the witch can cut him into pieces. Furious, his hands ignite, and he throws a flame at the witch. She’s engulfed in the flame and tries to block it, but Chiyo comes from behind and slams her hammer into the witch’s head. The hammer hits the witch so hard that her head is smashed in from the impact.
Blood goes flying, some hitting Chiyo and Leo. The witch’s lifeless body falls to the ground.
As Victor and the warlock continue to fight, Victor becomes dizzy. But this time, it’s not “going to pass out” dizzy; it’s something else. For a moment, he feels something strange entering his body. Victor starts to gain extra energy, strength, and power. His watch starts flashing and vibrating. He glances down and notices a meter rising.
This wasn’t any power. It was the power of the dead witch.
The warlock thinks this is an advantage and throws another punch, but Victor grabs the warlock’s fist like a baseball. The warlock lets out a painful groan as Victor starts crushing the warlock’s hand. He notices Victor’s eyes are glowing bright white, which startles the warlock.
“What the fuck is happening?” the warlock cries out.
“You made the mistake of coming after me,” Victor responds as he throws a sucker punch.
The warlock blocks the force but is still thrown back several feet.
