Chapter 645: Past, present and future [2/2]
"Well, would you look at that. Good. Good. Life is short, drown them in love and sex. So much that they would never regret binding themselves to you."
Then I remembered that this Phantom had already lost his {Kindred}. His words must have stemmed from his own personal experience. Taking them to heart, I saluted him with the Hellsend Brofist.
"Thank you for your advice."
"Hahaha, don't worry about me, son. I will not last long. I will see my wife soon enough. I have just enough for one last fight."
Hearing his words, I knew better than to question him. For someone who has lost the love of his life, not many would want to go on living.
That was why children were considered necessary, because they were the only thing that would keep a person from killing him or herself out of grief.
George R. Clay wanted to die. And he knew exactly how to do it.
A few seconds later, the healing was finally complete. He slowly rose to his feet on wobbly legs. Like a patient who has been bedridden for years, George took a few moments for his body to warm up.
Once standing, he walked to a nearby closet and began pulling out his clothes and armor. In less than ten minutes, George was in full battle gear. I noticed, however, that he was missing a weapon.
"All right. Back in business. You didn't tell me your name, son."
"I go by Limitless."
"Not that alias crap, your real name."
"Smith, John Smith."
"Look here, you smart-ass bastard. Sto..."
I then fished out an Id I had created with {Shelter}. Using {Gather}, I recreated my driver's license down to the last detail.
"Hmph. This is real?"
"Yes. I stopped introducing myself as John Smith because everyone thought I was being a smart ass."
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I could only imagine! I was about to beat your ass for the same reason! Hahaha!"
Like a drunken lunatic, George began slapping his knees as his boisterous laughter continued to echo.
"HAHAHAHA, Fuck...I haven't laughed like that in forever."
"..."
And here I thought I had already passed people laughing at my name. The floor manager in front of me suddenly stopped laughing and added in a clear voice.
"Fight me."
"Why?"
"I need the practice, and I need to know if you can take on vampires."
"But I am in a hurry, I have to save Evelyn," I argued.
"Evelyn's been missing for years. A day or two won't matter. Consider it my gift to you."
Hearing his words, I stopped trying to resist and accepted.
"Okay, then let's go outside."
George led me outside and brought me to our dueling area. I had Exa call our entire group to follow. We eventually reached a small forest outside the castle. It was about the size of half a football field in size.
"Alright. Come at me with everything you got."
"What?"
"I can feel your soul, son. To me, you are weak. You do not have what it takes to kill me. I'm a Phantom who served on the 30th floor. I know what I am talking about."
"..." I wanted to rebuke him for his arrogance, but remembering how Gaspar just ignored us, I couldn't say much.
"{Come to me}, {Day By Day}, [Shared Armory], [Commander], [Overdrive], [Penetrator], [Vengeance]. [Inventory], Burger and Fries."
[[Sniper] setting shifting to [Commander]. [Commander] levels up to [General].]
[[Knight] setting shifting to [Commander]. [General] levels up to [War Lord].]
When I finished my battle preparations. Seven John Smiths were all carrying high-caliber weapons. My UGVs were behind me. The defender just raised an eyebrow when he saw the firepower I had brought to bear.
"You're using guns. You even have tanks with you. You all practically reek of holy energy. You're just like a vampire executor..."
But despite his praise, he had a disappointed face.
"But you cannot fool my eyes, son. You are not a warrior. You only pretend to be one. Your eyes... you have seen death, you know defeat. But you have yet to experience loss."
"What?" I blurted out in surprise. This man, his words were quite accurate.
I have seen reapers die. But none of my own had yet to do so.
"Your body lacks the refinement of combat. You fight with your head, not your heart."
"What the hell are you talking about? I have fought zombies, monsters, and even a greater demon! I am not a newbie!" I retorted defensively.
"I guess I have to show you how weak you really are."
George started to crack his neck before calling his {Fate}.
"{Tyrant}."
A loud, monstrous roar suddenly erupted from the defenders' feet. In the next few seconds, some sort of beast erupted from the ground. It looked like a giant T-Rex covered in golden armor. The monster passed George like a ghost.
The dinosaur was huge! Maybe as big as a cyclops. In the next monster, the T-Rex stomped its massive legs before letting out another earth-shattering roar! It then opened its large mouth and chomped down on the defender.
At this point, the monster suddenly turned into smoke and then shrank. As if being sucked in, its limbs slowly connected to George! Transforming like the Power Rangers, the 30th floor manager was enveloped in the monster's flesh.
'Iron Wolverine, my foot! That thing is a fucking dinosaur!'
He gained massive claws and a helmet with large horns. George's entire body was encased in armor similar to that of the T-Rex. The only difference was that he was humanoid.
He also grew to about 8 feet tall. His flesh turned from human pink to a deep orange. From the overbearing appearance and the depth of his soul, I felt myself swallow hard in nervousness.
'Husband. Shoot him now while he is transforming!'
'He will do no such thing. Dearest. When fighting those who change form, we must have the courtesy to wait. It is the law!'
'I agree with Lilly, beloved. It feels wrong to attack someone who is preparing. It would be similar to attacking someone with their pants down.'
'Ugh, you two are as inflexible as ever. Husband, I will tolerate it because this is a practice match. If we ever encounter an enemy who has the audacity to transform during battle, I will be the first to shoot him.'
'Hahaha! Fair enough. Thank you, everyone. I was able to calm down with your help,' I said gratefully.
George's transformation took a few more minutes to complete. When the souls accompanying his transformation settled down, I was now looking at some kind of Dino Iron man.
Judging by its appearance, it was no longer human. Even its eyes glowed red. That was until it spoke.
"Thank you for waiting. This is my {Fate}, pushing my physical abilities to the limit. Prepare yourself. I will come for you with the intent to kill. If you cannot defeat me, forget about saving Evelyn."
Hearing his words, I grabbed my weapons as I nodded.
"Understood. Prepare to get your ass kicked! Lilly, please do the honors," I remarked.
My woman stepped forward before announcing in a loud voice.
"This is a free for all exhibition match. Unless one side surrenders, none shall interfere. Gentlemen, OPEN COMBAT!"
At that moment, I pressed the triggers of all my weapons and unleashed hell. But the one in front of me just folded his arms and accepted the full power of my arsenal.
All sorts of ammunition and calibers smashed into his golden armor like eggs against a brick wall.
The 40mm grenades and the 95mm heat rockets drove him back with their sheer power. As the switchblades began to fall like an avalanche, clouds of smoke and dust covered the courtyard.
Burger's 30mm cannon continued to fire without interruption. Although he was trying to be a badass, I noticed that the tyrant in front of me was starting to flinch and buckle.
'[Sniper], [Overdrive]'
[[Commander] setting shifting to [Sniper]. [War Lord] levels down to [General].]
[[Commander] setting shifting to [Sniper]. [General] levels down to [Commander]. [Sniper] levels up to [Sniper Elite].]
[[Commander] setting shifting to [Sniper]. [Sniper Elite] levels up to [One round marksman].]
"{Reload}".
With my new settings, I was about to blast the defender once again, only for him to exclaim in a loud voice.
"STOP! STOP! STOP! HOW MANY BULLETS DO YOU HAVE?"
"FUCK YOU! WHY DO YOU THINK I CALL MYSELF LIMITLESS! DIE!"