Chapter 17: Impression
Jael ran, propelled forward with his high speed. He was in front of Tim before he could blink; the force shield in front of him didn't save him from a punch to the gut and a slap to the head that made him spin.
Tim's eyes rolled, and he blindly shoved his hand forward, releasing kinetic force that blasted towards Jae,l, who was not expecting it, but his right hand bubbled, flowed like liquid flesh, and Hermit transformed, turning into a flat shield of hardened flesh.
The attack crumbled before the shield with a cracking sound, but that gave Tim enough time to get away and bring out more of his stones; several of them floated around him, forming a circle in a circle. Tim rolled his jaws, the pain still made his eyes watered. "You are finally showing your fangs."
Jael raised his right hand which was now seven feet of flat hardened flesh. "Are you not about impression again? This will teach you to stop picking a fight with people you don't know!"
He tried to close the distance between them again, but he couldn't move; he looked down in panic and realized Tim's force was holding him down. He strained against it, and the stone he was standing on broke, but still, he couldn't move.
Tim's jaws tightened, and his eyes narrowed in concentration; he was struggling to hold Jael's legs and his stones and still support his own body with telekinesis. His energy was running low, and he couldn't believe he had to use so much power to hold him down!
But this should finish him, with no way to avoid his stone bullet this time. He's finished.
Tim started to shoot.
Four stones exploded outward at once, at blinding speed and a boom of shockwave. Another four followed, and another and then another as the stone circle rotatedd.
When the stones hit his flesh shield, Jael felt the pain even with Hermit limiting the pain he should feel. It stung hard and hit with enough force to shake his bones. And they just kept coming.
He struggled, straining his muscles to break away from the force holding his legs captive but it held on tight. 'Shit! This bastard cornered me. I have to get out of his line of fire! Hermit won't be able to hold on much longer!'
Then Hermit sent something through their link, a mix of images and emotions. Jael groaned. 'This is going to hurt!' And then he dropped the shield.
Everyone watching, especially Tim, was surprised when the shield dropped. Four stones hit Jael at once. One shattered his collarbone with a meaty crack, two to the gut, and the last to the shin.
Jael didn't let the next set of four stone bullets hit him. His right hand exploded outward into a mass of flesh and jagged teeth, resemblance the wing of some monstrosity. He swept it forward like a broom, and a woosh of teeth accompanied the shockwave that followed.
Tim made a wall of stones and force in front of himself but he still felt the power behind that simple move. Sweat dripped into his eyes and he blinked quickly. 'Impossible. How can he still have such power?'
But it's too early to be surprised because the next moment, Jael's eyes glowed green and he opened his mouth. "Unholy magic." Green fire ran up the fangs-filled flesh hand, dripped to the ground, and hissed as it hit, eating away at the stone.
Tim took a step back. 'What is that?' He knew instinctively that it was dangerous. "I surrender!" He called. Even as he released everything else he was doing and poured all of his remaining power into a shield.
Jael's right eye shone red; he poured more energy into his right hand, building it up until the pressure was almost too much to hold. "Surrender? After you come here like some hot shit and pick a fight?" His voice is deeper, low, and cold.
He brought down his hand, the fangs shifting and clicking. Bright green energy split the air, an arc that slammed into Tim's shield and cracked it like a mirror, it hit him from the head and chest with a sharp crunch.
Tim was sent back; he smashed into the dumpster, crushing it and sending foul-smelling trash spilling. He tried to pick himself up, failed, and stayed on his knees; he clutched his chest, still reeling from surprise that that attack managed to break his shield even when he used every last bit of his energy.
"H..o...w.." Blood dripped from his mouth and he flinched when he saw that Jael was already crouching in front of him. 'How is he emitting this much pressure? His aura is so dense!'
"Hey. I gave you enough impressions don't I." Jael's voice was still cold, and his eyes burned with the intensity of a furnace. His hand was back to normal but he quickly changed it to that of where a single long fang jutted out.
He thrust forward as if he wanted to pierce his eyes, and he watched Tim scramble back with a smirk. "I guess I won after all."
Suddenly, yellow lighting filled the air in front of Jael. It condensed into an arrow that shot towards almost too fast, but he managed to change his hand to a shield at the last seconds.
But that created a space between him and Tim.
Jael looked up, his hand trembled, 'what the hell. That single arrow hit harder than Tim's whole attack'
Standing between them is a man Jael could only describe as 'golden' his hair is like spun metallic gold, and both his earrings and dress are the same golden color. When he smiled, he half expected him to flash a golden tooth.
Jael knew immediately that he couldn't trust that smile. "Who are you?" He demanded, taking a step forward and changing his hand to that of two many fangs.
Litha and Temur had also stepped forward as well and she answered. "That is Thayer Argent."