ERRON
The moment the battle began, Erron didn’t hesitate.
His revolvers snapped upward.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Bullets tore through the air toward Charles as Erron stepped backward, creating distance.
But Charles didn’t slow down.
He charged straight through the gunfire, weaving through the bullets with frightening speed, closing the gap between them.
Erron clicked his tongue.
Too fast.
Charles reached him in seconds.
His fist rocketed forward.
Erron tilted his head sharply to the side.
The punch whistled past his face.
Charles immediately followed with his other fist.
Erron dropped low, ducking beneath it.
Then Charles drove his knee upward, aiming directly for Erron’s face.
Erron crossed his arms just in time.
THUD.
The impact shoved him backward slightly, his guard absorbing the strike.
But that tiny opening was all Charles needed.
Charles flicked his wrist.
A knife flew forward.
Erron instantly raised a revolver, firing at it.
BANG.
The bullet struck the knife.
And suddenly...
BOOM.
The knife detonated mid-air.
The explosion blasted Erron backward, sending him flying into a nearby tree.
His back slammed against the trunk.
The air was knocked violently from his lungs.
“Ghh?!”
He slid down the bark, groaning as his chest struggled to pull in air.
Charles didn’t wait.
He rushed forward to finish him.
Erron forced his revolvers up again.
BANG. BANG.
Charles dodged again.
Then suddenly ripped off one of his own fingers.
Erron’s eyes widened.
“What the fu-”
Charles hurled the severed finger toward him.
Erron fired.
The bullet collided with the finger.
BOOM.
The finger exploded instantly.
The blast hurled Erron across the ground.
He rolled and tumbled violently through dirt and roots before crashing to a stop.
Meanwhile...
Charles’ missing finger regrew from his hand, flesh reforming like nothing had happened.
Erron groaned as he pushed himself up slightly.
Blood trickled down his face.
Dust covered his clothes.
He coughed harshly.
“Ow…”
Before he could recover,
Charles grabbed him by the hair.
Then began punching him repeatedly in the face.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Each hit snapped Erron’s head back.
Then Charles hurled him to the ground.
Erron coughed violently, spitting blood onto the dirt.
His revolvers slipped from his hands and landed a few feet away.
Charles grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him up again.
Then slammed Erron’s face straight into a tree.
CRACK.
Once.
CRACK.
Twice.
Blood ran down Erron’s face.
Erron suddenly drove his elbow into Charles’ stomach.
Charles barely reacted.
He answered with a brutal sucker punch to Erron’s jaw.
Erron slammed against the tree behind him.
He coughed violently.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
A tooth dropped to the ground.
Charles looked down at him with cold contempt.
“Know your place.”
“Weak heathen.”
He drove his knee directly into Erron’s face.
THUD.
Erron collapsed face-first into the dirt.
He coughed again, barely conscious now.
Through blurry vision, he saw them.
His revolvers.
Just a few feet away.
He began dragging himself toward them, fingers scraping against the dirt.
Charles watched him.
Then slowly walked over.
He stomped on the revolvers.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Metal bent and cracked beneath his boot.
Then Charles kicked them aside into the forest.
Erron weakly reached forward.
His voice barely escaped his lips.
“…No…”
Charles stopped walking for a moment.
Then he sighed.
Pathetic.
He grabbed Erron by the back of his jacket and dragged him upright, forcing him onto his knees.
Erron’s head hung low.
Blood dripped from his nose and chin.
“You coreless really are stubborn,” Charles said coldly.
Erron wheezed, trying to breathe through a crushed chest.
Charles grabbed his jaw and forced his head up.
“Tell me,” Charles said, “Do you still think you can win?”
Erron didn’t answer.
Charles scoffed.
Then he punched him again.
Erron collapsed sideways into the dirt.
He rolled weakly, coughing more blood.
Charles slowly approached again.
Boots crunching on leaves.
Erron’s hand twitched against the ground.
He looked defeated.
Broken.
Charles stood over him.
“This is why your kind should know its place.”
He raised his foot.
And stomped down toward Erron’s head.
At the last second,
Erron rolled.
Charles’ boot smashed into the dirt instead.
Erron’s hand shot up from the ground.
A fist full of dirt and gravel flew straight into Charles’ eyes.
Charles flinched.
“—!”
Erron lunged forward immediately, tackling him at the waist.
Both of them crashed to the ground.
Erron drove his fist repeatedly into Charles’ ribs.
One.
Two.
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Three.
Charles barely reacted.
His body was too durable.
But it bought Erron a moment.
Charles grabbed Erron’s throat and threw him off like garbage.
Erron hit the ground hard and rolled.
Before Charles could stand fully...
Erron kicked a loose rock off the ground with his boot.
The rock flew up.
Erron caught it midair.
And smashed it into Charles’ face.
CRACK.
Charles’ head snapped slightly to the side.
Still not enough.
Charles grabbed Erron’s arm.
Then snapped his head forward into Erron’s face.
THUD.
Erron collapsed backward, dazed.
His vision swam.
Charles stood again, wiping dirt from his eyes.
“You’re irritating.”
He ripped off another finger.
Erron’s eyes widened again.
“Oh come on...”
Charles flicked it toward him.
Erron didn’t run.
He kicked a broken tree branch off the ground, sending it flying.
The finger struck the branch instead.
BOOM.
The explosion shattered the wood.
Splinters rained everywhere.
Erron used the explosion’s dust cloud to rush Charles again, tackling him into a nearby tree.
This time he aimed for something else.
His thumb drove straight into Charles’ eye.
Charles snarled.
For the first time...
Actual anger crossed his face.
He grabbed Erron’s arm and twisted it violently.
CRACK.
Erron screamed.
His arm dislocated instantly.
Charles then punched him across the forest floor.
Erron tumbled through dirt and roots again.
He struggled to stand.
One arm useless.
Face swollen.
Blood everywhere.
Charles walked toward him slowly.
Completely calm again.
“You see?” Charles said.
“This is the difference between us.”
Erron swayed on his feet.
Barely conscious.
But he still lifted his fists.
Shaking.
“Yeah…” Erron rasped.
Spitting blood into the dirt.
“I noticed.”
He wiped his mouth.
Then gave a crooked grin through broken teeth.
“But if I go down…”
He staggered forward.
“…I’m making you work for it.”
Charles’ expression darkened.
And the fight wasn’t over yet.
Erron staggered forward, fists raised.
His dislocated arm hung uselessly at his side.
Charles looked at him with open irritation now.
“Still standing?”
Erron spat blood into the dirt once more.
Charles sighed.
“Enough.”
He reached down and ripped off three fingers at once.
Erron’s eyes widened.
“Aw fu-”
Charles flicked them into the air.
The fingers spun like small darts as they flew toward Erron.
Erron dove sideways.
BOOM.
The first finger exploded behind him, the blast throwing dirt and bark everywhere.
He rolled across the ground.
The second finger landed beside him
Erron kicked it away.
BOOM.
The finger detonated midair instead, the explosion blasting splinters of wood through the forest.
The third finger landed in front of him.
Erron grabbed a fallen branch and swatted it away like a bat.
It flew back toward Charles.
Charles tilted his head slightly.
BOOM.
The explosion erupted halfway between them.
Smoke and debris filled the air.
Erron coughed, sprinting through the dust cloud.
His brain was racing.
Don’t fight him head on.
Make him waste his explosives.
Charles stepped through the smoke calmly.
Then he snapped off another finger.
And another.
And another.
He tossed them across the forest floor like seeds.
Erron immediately understood.
“Oh you’re kidding me…”
Charles snapped his fingers.
BOOM.
The first explosion erupted beneath Erron’s feet.
Erron leapt sideways just in time.
BOOM.
A second blast tore apart a nearby tree.
The trunk cracked and toppled toward him.
Erron dove under it as it fell.
Leaves and bark rained over him.
Charles walked forward through the chaos like he was strolling through a park.
“Running already?”
Erron grabbed a broken tree branch sharpened by the blast.
As Charles approached...
Erron suddenly charged him.
Charles raised an eyebrow.
“Desperate.”
Erron swung the branch like a spear.
Charles grabbed it easily.
The moment his hand closed around it...
Erron let go.
Then kicked the branch upward.
The sharpened wood jammed straight into Charles’ shoulder.
Not deep.
But enough to draw blood.
Charles looked down at it slowly.
Erron didn’t celebrate.
He immediately punched him in his jaw.
Charles’ expression hardened.
For the first time...
Actual pain.
Charles grabbed Erron’s throat.
Lifted him off the ground.
“You little!”
Erron pulled something from his pocket.
A single bullet.
Not from a gun.
Just the round.
He shoved it straight into Charles’ mouth.
Charles froze.
Erron grinned through broken teeth and immediately closed his eyes.
Then headbutted him.
Hard.
Charles reflexively bit down on the bullet.
BOOM.
The bullet detonated inside his mouth.
The explosion blew Charles backward into a tree trunk.
Erron hit the ground gasping.
His lungs burned.
His body felt like it was falling apart.
Across the clearing, Charles slowly stood up again.
Smoke curled from his mouth.
Most of his jaw was shredded.
Then it began regenerating.
His eyes were no longer calm.
They were furious.
Charles wiped blood from his face.
“You…”
His voice was low now.
Erron pushed himself back onto his feet.
Barely standing.
He laughed weakly.
He wiped blood from his nose.
“Come on.”
Charles ripped off his entire hand this time.
Erron’s smile faded.
“Shit.”
Charles tossed the severed hand into the air.
And it split apart mid-flight into multiple fingers.
All flying toward Erron.
Erron whispered to himself.
"Oh... fuck me.”
And dove forward as the forest lit up with explosions.
Erron hit the ground hard, leaves and damp soil blasting up around him as another explosion ripped through the trees behind him.
BOOM.
Heat brushed his back.
Too close.
He rolled downhill through ferns and mud, shoulder screaming. Charles stepped through the smoke above him like a walking wildfire, fingers glowing again.
“You're running out of places to hide,” Charles said coldly.
Erron spat dirt and pushed himself up behind a thick oak. His ribs ached every time he breathed. The bark beside his head suddenly erupted as another explosion slammed into the trunk.
Wood splintered.
The tree groaned.
Erron ran.
Another blast detonated where he'd been a second earlier, sending a shockwave that threw him sideways into a cluster of fallen branches. He hit the ground and didn’t get up immediately.
Think.
You can't beat him straight.
Charles walked slowly through the forest now, explosions popping lazily in his palms like he was bored.
“Come on,” He called. “At least try to make it interesting.”
Erron's eyes scanned the forest floor.
Rocks. Fallen logs. Vines.
And above them, a half-rotted pine tree leaning dangerously over a slope, its roots barely gripping the dirt.
Erron grabbed a jagged rock and hurled it into the bushes twenty feet away.
Charles reacted instantly.
BOOM.
The bush disintegrated in a violent blast.
Erron sprinted the opposite direction.
Charles turned, already charging another explosion. “There you are!"
Erron didn't slow down. He dove behind the leaning pine tree and kicked hard at the exposed roots, stomping them loose with everything he had left.
The soil cracked.
The tree creaked.
Charles noticed too late.
Erron grabbed a broken branch and rammed it like a lever under the roots, pushing with a roar.
The tree tipped.
Charles fired.
BOOM.
The explosion shattered half the trunk, but it also finished what Erron started.
The massive pine collapsed downhill.
Charles jumped aside, but the falling tree smashed through smaller trees and branches, sending a tangled avalanche of wood crashing toward him.
Erron didn’t stop.
He charged through the chaos and grabbed a thick vine hanging from a branch.
Charles blasted the falling trunk apart, wood fragments flying everywhere, but Erron was already swinging.
He came out of the smoke like a wrecking ball.
The vine carried him straight into Charles.
Erron slammed both boots into Charles' chest.
They crashed into the dirt together.
Charles reacted instantly, a blast forming in his hand again, but Erron grabbed Charles' wrist and slammed it into the ground.
BOOM.
The explosion went off against the forest floor instead.
Dirt geysered up.
Both of them were thrown apart.
Erron hit a rock and nearly blacked out.
Charles rolled to his feet faster, breathing harder now, eyes burning with anger.
His black cloak was torn.
Blood ran down his temple.
“JUST DIE ALREADY!” Charles roared, wiping his mouth.
Erron forced himself upright, grabbing a broken branch like a spear.
His legs shook.
Charles lifted both hands.
The air trembled.
The spear thrust came fast.
Erron drove it forward with both hands, aiming straight for Charles’ ribs.
Charles twisted at the last second.
The wooden branch scraped across his cloak instead of punching through. Sparks jumped as it glanced off something harder underneath. Charles’ hand shot out, grabbing the shaft, and a burst of orange light exploded from his palm.
BOOM.
The shockwave blasted down the length of the spear.
Erron barely had time to let go before it detonated in his hands. The wooden shaft shattered into splinters and the force hurled him backward into the dirt. Air punched out of his lungs as he skidded across leaves and mud.
Charles didn’t hesitate.
He charged through the smoke, boots tearing up the forest floor, one hand already glowing again.
Erron rolled desperately.
Another explosion slammed into the ground where his head had been a second before, blasting a crater and sending dirt spraying into the trees.
Erron scrambled up, coughing, ears ringing.
Then he saw it.
Half-buried in the leaves a few yards away, one of his broken revolvers.
The cylinder hung loose and the barrel was bent uselessly.
But the grip was still solid.
Erron ran.
Branches whipped across his face as he lunged for it. Behind him he heard Charles growl.
“Running won’t save you.”
A thunderclap exploded at Erron’s heels. The ground burst open and the blast shoved him forward, nearly knocking him flat. His fingers hit metal.
He grabbed the revolver.
In one smooth motion he rolled onto his back, spun the gun in his grip, and as Charles lunged in to finish him...
CRACK.
Erron smashed the butt of the revolver straight into Charles’ jaw.
The impact snapped Charles’ head sideways.
For the first time in the fight, Charles staggered.
Erron didn’t stop.
He drove his shoulder forward, tackling Charles into a tree trunk. Bark split under the impact. Before Charles could recover, Erron brought the revolver down again...
CRACK.
Across Charles’ temple.
Charles snarled, fury boiling in his eyes. His hand flared bright with explosive light.
Erron saw it a split second too late.
BOOM.
The blast detonated between them.
Erron was thrown like a ragdoll, smashing through a bush and rolling hard down a slope of wet leaves. The revolver flew from his hand and disappeared somewhere in the dark undergrowth.
Everything spun.
Erron forced himself up to one knee, coughing blood into the dirt.
Across the clearing, Charles stepped out of the smoke.
He wiped blood from his lip with the back of his hand.
Then he smiled.
“Good,” Charles said, voice low and cruel. “Now it’s starting to feel like a fight.”
His palms ignited again.
Erron stumbled backward, chest heaving, every breath rasping painfully through bloodied lungs.
His vision swam, dark spots flitting at the edges as Charles advanced, each step deliberate, predatory.
The forest around them seemed to shrink, the trees looming closer, the damp ground slick beneath his boots. Charles’ fingers crackled with the orange glow of his explosive power, the light reflecting off his twisted grin. Erron’s revolvers lay forgotten on the ground, crushed beneath the weight of earlier attacks.
That’s when he saw it.
A thick, jagged rock, half-buried beneath fallen leaves and twigs, mottled gray and brown, rough and heavy enough to shatter bone but just small enough that Erron could lift it.
His hands shook as he staggered toward it, ribs screaming with every movement.
Pain lanced through his side, a dull, thudding ache that made his breaths shallow. But he didn’t care. The moment the rock was in his hands, every ounce of fear, every shred of exhaustion, every gnawing doubt disappeared. Only the need to survive, and to end Charles remained.
Charles’ smirk widened, confident, cocky, like he had already won.
“Is that all you’ve got, weakling?” He taunted, his voice echoing through the forest.
Erron’s blood boiled. He spat blood into the dirt, eyes narrowing. “I’m done running,” He muttered, gripping the rock tighter. “You’ve had your fun.”
Charles lunged, fist glowing, and Erron threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the explosive punch that tore through the dirt where he had been standing. Shards of bark and stone sprayed in all directions, dust and smoke mixing with the stench of blood. Erron rolled forward, claws of his hands scraping the earth, and brought the rock up in front of him as he staggered to his feet.
The first swing connected with the side of Charles’ face.
CRUNCH.
Bone splintered audibly, a sharp, sickening sound that made Erron’s stomach turn. Charles’ head snapped sideways, blood spurting from a gash that cut across his cheek and down his jaw. Erron didn’t stop, couldn’t stop. Each strike was more desperate than the last, a flurry of rage and exhaustion, each blow fueled by every punch, kick, and explosion Charles had landed on him throughout the fight.
Charles tried to bring his fists up, to counter, but Erron had learned quickly, he moved like a whirlwind, ducking and weaving, swinging the rock with precision now.
He slammed it into Charles’ temple, then again across the bridge of his nose.
Blood sprayed in a dark arc across the mossy ground.
Charles staggered, momentarily dazed, but Erron’s fury didn’t abate.
He lunged forward, raising the rock overhead and bringing it down with all the weight he could muster, connecting with Charles’ jaw.
Teeth shattered under the impact, flying like shards of glass. Charles’ roar was guttural, pained, primal.
Erron slammed the rock into Charles’ face again, this time catching him square on the cheekbone.
The bone cracked audibly, a sick, hollow sound that made Erron’s ears ring.
Blood flowed freely now, pouring from Charles’ nose, mouth, and a deep gash forming across his temple.
Charles tried to stagger back, to shield himself, but Erron was relentless.
He lunged forward, swinging the rock with both hands, smashing it against the side of Charles’ skull repeatedly.
Each strike was punctuated by a wet, sickening thud, the sound of skull meeting stone echoing through the forest like a drum of war.
Charles’ screams cut through the forest, raw and pained, but Erron ignored them, letting rage guide him.
He slammed the rock into Charles’ jaw again, feeling the bones splinter beneath his hands. Blood coated his own arms, dripping from his face, running down his forehead, but he didn’t flinch.
Charles’ hands clawed at him, tried to push him away, but Erron’s grip on the rock was unyielding, driving it down, again and again, smashing into the bridge of his nose, the temples, the cheekbones.
Each strike was methodical now, driven by survival, by the need to end this fight, by the desperate refusal to die.
Charles’ eyes went wide, then blank, as blood and bone spattered the leaves around them.
His body twitched with the last violent bursts of life, but Erron kept swinging, each blow more punishing than the last.
A particularly savage strike to the jaw, teeth embedded into his own lips, a guttural groan escaping his mangled mouth.
Erron didn’t relent. He raised the rock high, and with a roar that tore from his lungs, he brought it down with everything he had, smashing the side of Charles’ skull with such force that the sound echoed through the forest like thunder.
Blood exploded outward, covering Erron’s arms, face, and chest.
"Fucking... cockroach..." Charles groaned, body twitching uncontrollably.
Erron raised the rock one last time again, and slammed it down, crushing the side of Charles’ skull completely, the wet, sickening thud resonating as the fight finally ended.
Erron collapsed onto his knees beside the corpse, chest heaving, eyes wide, covered in blood and grime. His hands were shaking, arms slick with gore, every muscle screaming in agony.
The forest around him was loud, the fighting still on-going in the distance.
Charles’ body lay broken, mangled, unrecognizable under the weight of the blood and bruises, the grotesque evidence of Erron’s desperate, brutal survival.
He dropped the rock, letting it thud heavily to the ground beside him.
His body sagged against a tree, legs trembling, and he coughed, a wet, grating sound, as the adrenaline slowly drained, leaving him raw and aching.
His revolvers lay shattered nearby, irrelevant now. The fight had been over for minutes, though it felt like hours.
He had done what he had to, and yet, he could still feel the burn, the pulse of pain in every bone, every bruise, every cut on his body.
Erron closed his eyes, swallowing hard, letting the forest’s cold air wash over him.
He opened his eyes slowly, staring at the ruined, bloodied body at his feet.
The forest seemed to exhale around him, leaves rustling gently in the wind, indifferent to the carnage.
Erron slowly dragged himself to his feet, hands slick with blood, chest heaving.
His face was battered, lips split, bruises darkening across his skin, but he had won.
Somehow, against a man he had no right to beat, he had survived.
Just barely.
Erron wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand, staring down at the mangled figure of Charles one last time, before stepping back, trembling, and moving forward into the forest, every muscle aching, every breath heavy, but alive.
CHAPER 6 END
