My Scumbag System Chapter 504: Lightning on the Horizon

I sprinted towards the western platform, where Hikari was being overwhelmed by four Phantoms who had apparently decided cooperation was their best strategy. Diego had her in a chokehold, while Kira weaved around her with shadow tendrils, searching for an opening. Two other Phantoms, unfamilar to me, were attempting to seize her flail.

Attempting was the accurate description.

Hikari's face was split by a maniacal grin.

"This is thrilling!" she bellowed, delivering a headbutt to Diego with such force that the sickening crack echoed from twenty yards away.

Diego staggered back, a crimson tide gushing from his nose. "What in the blazes are you made of?"

"Protein and an unyielding fighting spirit!" Hikari chirped, then unleashed her flail in a sweeping arc, sending one of the unknown Phantoms airborne.

I arrived on the platform just as Julian emerged from the opposite side, his golden armor shimmering brilliantly under the afternoon sun. As expected, the pretty boy would orchestrate his entrance for optimal dramatic impact.

Our gazes met.

"Nakano." His tone carried the biting chill of liquid nitrogen.

"Valerius." I offered him my most irritating smile. "Quite pleasant weather we're experiencing, wouldn't you agree?"

His jaw tightened so severely, I half-expected his immaculate teeth to fracture. "You dare to ridicule me here? Now of all times?"

"I make a habit of mocking you, everywhere and always. It's rather my specialty."

Violet energy crackled around his fists as his Quantum Disruption Aspect ignited. The surrounding atmosphere warped and contorted, reality itself bending under the immense pressure of his power.

How ostentatious.

"I will utterly dismantle you," he declared, his sapphire eyes blazing with suppressed rage. "I will shatter that smug expression and reveal your true nature to all—a mere street urchin masquerading as a Hunter."

I feigned a yawn. Deliberately. And loudly.

His complexion shifted to a shade of red that likely warranted immediate medical intervention.

"Have you concluded your address?" I inquired, inspecting my fingernails with exaggerated indifference. "Because we have a tournament to win, and your extended monologue is infringing upon valuable competition time."

He charged.

Not the most astute decision, but fury often clouds judgment. His fist hurtled towards my face, enveloped in that pulsating purple distortion field, and I could sense a palpable wrongness in the air—his Aspect attempting to unravel my own abilities at a fundamental, molecular level.

I deployed Kinetic Absorption and met the blow.

The collision propelled me backward across the stone platform, the soles of my boots skidding against the volcanic rock. Agony surged through my jaw where his knuckles landed, but almost instantly, the pain transmuted into something else—a surge of raw power coursing through my limbs.

My Strength increased by five percent.

My Agility rose by another five percent.

Julian's eyes widened in astonishment as I righted myself, rotating my jaw with an audible, satisfying click. "Is that all the strength you possess?"

"Impossible," he stammered. "My Aspect should have—"

"Should have done what? Weakened me? Sabotaged my abilities?" I flexed my knuckles, feeling the temporary enhancements thrumming through my being. "I regret to inform you, but your sophisticated disruption field is incapable of affecting what it cannot comprehend."

His features contorted into a mask of ugliness. "You are cheating. You must be employing illicit augmentations or—"

"Or perhaps I am simply superior to you." I offered a shrug. "A startling notion, I acknowledge."

He lunged once more, his movements now clumsy and unrefined, driven by sheer rage. I evaded with effortless grace, bringing my bat around in a brutal arc that connected sharply with his ribs.

The onlookers erupted into a frenzy.

Julian staggered, his hand instinctively going to his side. The Quantum Disruption flickered and vanished as his focus shattered.

"How?" he choked out. "How are you so powerful? Your profile indicates—"

"My profile contains a great deal of information." I advanced, lowering my voice to a near whisper audible only to him. "The pertinent question is, do you truly place faith in everything you read? Or are you simply too obtuse to perceive the reality before you?"

His hand shot towards my throat, but I intercepted his wrist mid-motion. For a fleeting moment, we were locked in a stalemate of pure physical might.

Then, I applied pressure.

His bones groaned under the strain, tendons straining as I forcefully drove his arm downwards, inch by agonizing inch. His face contorted in a mixture of pain and utter disbelief.

"Not quite as formidable without your disruption field, are you," I remarked casually. "It seems, upon removal of your flashy Aspect and costly training, you reveal yourself to be merely another pampered heir who has never truly fought for anything."

I propelled him backward with considerable force. He stumbled, nearly toppling from the platform before regaining his balance.

"This is far from over," he snarled.

"It seldom is with your kind," I replied, turning my back on him with dismissive finality. "Now be off with you before I inflict further humiliation upon you, beyond what you've already managed."

His breathing grew ragged with impotent fury, but the sound of his retreating footsteps was unmistakable. A sensible decision. The young man had gleaned at least one valuable lesson today.

Hikari had managed her Phantom predicament by simply overwhelming them with superior force. Her flail, still slick with a concerning amount of gore, was waved cheerfully in my direction. "I nabbed the flag!" "Indeed, I can observe that." My gaze swept across the arena. The Vipers had claimed the southern platform, with Kenjiro standing sentinel like an ornate, unmoving statue. Control of the northern platform remained a contested zone between Isabelle and an unfamiliar Striker. Raphael, on the other hand, had apparently embraced a scorched-earth doctrine for his defense of the eastern platform. This left our team in possession of three out of five flags, with twenty-two minutes left on the clock. "Skylar, provide your status," I commanded through the din. Her voice, slightly distorted, came through the comms unit nestled in my ear. "Center platform is secure. Two Vipers attempted a takeover; they are currently enjoying an unscheduled nap." "Any casualties?" "They'll survive. For now, at least." Sufficient for my needs. I began jogging towards the northern platform. Isabelle was engaged in a fierce duel with a towering figure who commanded the very earth. The entire platform had been reshaped into a labyrinth of stone structures, through which Isabelle weaved with the grace of a dancer, her spear leaving ephemeral green trails in its wake. The Striker, noticing my approach, shifted his focus. A torrent of stone spikes erupted from the ground, forming a jagged barrier between us. Engaging my Shade Cloak, I dissolved into the form of a shadow. The spikes passed through my incorporeal being without resistance as I solidified once more, directly before him. His eyes widened in disbelief. "What—" Before he could utter another sound, my bat connected precisely with his temple. He collapsed like a discarded pile of rubble. Isabelle cocked an eyebrow in my direction. "Showing off?" "As always." She proceeded to secure the flag while I maintained vigilance. Three platforms were now firmly under our control. Two more remained to be defended for... I checked the time display. Nineteen minutes left. A simple task, I presumed. That was precisely when the situation escalated. Reyna materialized upon the central platform as if she were a manifestation of pure lightning, her grotesque marionettes crackling into existence around her. Skylar barely managed to evade the onslaught before fists of pure electricity slammed into the stone where she had stood moments before. "Crap." I broke into a run, heading for the center. "Isabelle, hold the north!" "Go!"