The first thing that I noticed when I came back to my senses was the deafening sound of an explosion. And then, the ringing in my ears. The cold stinging my skin, and...
"..."
I lifted my head, feeling gazes coming from up front.
There stood two women, each one covered with skintight suits from their neck down. All black, and traced their figures perfectly, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.
The brown-haired one was quite well-endowed, a sight for sore eyes. But the blue-haired one wasn't losing out either. A perfect balance of proportions, as if her body was crafted with God's careful design.
All this information was processed in a split second. The moment my eyes caught their figures. Speeds that went past just having "quick thinking."
{Attack coming from above! Dodge!}
But just as I was half lost in thought, a voice echoed in my head... My own voice, but with a thought that's not mine...
Weirdly, my body responded to the command without delay. I took a leap forward, rolling to safety as the ground behind me exploded. Fragments of frozen dirt flew around, but I could see each piece within my view and was dodging them almost as if my body were moving on autopilot.
"What's going on...?" I whispered, my voice sounding hoarse and tired. "And..."
I observed the "monster" that attacked me. It was mostly humanoid... ignoring the fact that he looks like a bodybuilder that overdosed on protein powder. His "bulk" was way too much and imbalanced. Even his junk was enlarged and was just dangling like some sort of keychain or something.
My brows furrowed. Not because of what I was seeing, or because I found myself in a weird situation all of a sudden. But rather...
"Who... am I?"
A question that should've had a simple answer but eluded me completely until now.
"That reaction speed... Are you a Batch Zero from another zone?"
But before I could even think deeper, trying to dig through my nearly nonexistent memories, the blue-haired woman asked in a serious tone.
"Batch... Zero?"
The term was new to me, of course. And I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. However, before I could affirm or deny her question, she raised a brow in confusion and shook her head.
"No, I guess I'm mistaken. I haven't seen your face on the registries. You must be a civilian then." She decided all by herself. "You should step back, or it'll get dangerous for you."
"...!"
Almost at the same time her warning reached my ears, the same voice from earlier echoed inside my head once again.
{Roll to the sides!}
And as if on autopilot, my body moved, jumping rightward and rolling. The next moment, the spot where I had been just moments earlier was slammed by another fist, scattering debris all around.
On the ground, a small crater was formed. A testament to just how powerful the punch had been.
ROOAAAAAR!
The man raised a powerful cry, enough that my entire body shook from its intensity.
"Move, pretty boy! You're in the way!"
Just as I was stunned, another voice echoed... Before I felt a powerful tug against the nape of my shirt. The next moment, my body was hurtling parallel to the ground, flying away from the enemy. In panic, I flailed around before miraculously landing on my own two feet, drawing two deep lines on the gravelly ground.
"Stay right there!" The brown-haired woman shouted as the flirtatious smile on her lips turned fierce the next second. "And as for you, you big lump of meat...!"
The next events happened fast.
The woman leapt forward, taking advantage of the leg boost from her suit. She shot forth like a speeding bullet, fast enough that I could've lost sight of her if I blinked.
But the problem was that the enemy seemed aware of her approach.
"RAAAGH!"
He raised his large arm, not upwards to prepare for another slam, but straight toward the girl. Performing a not-so-perfect flicker jab. Although the fist was just bucket-sized, but from the woman's perspective, it should've looked like a truck speeding toward her.
"Pfft! Futile struggles~!"
"...!"
But to my, and the monster's surprise, the woman suddenly skidded to a stop. A perfect stop that let the jab miss her face by just an inch. The air pressure disturbed her hair, but she didn't look perturbed. As if everything was within her calculations.
Tap!
The next moment, just as the fist came to a brief pause, she patted the inner part of the man's arm. And right after, the large figure suddenly shook, and paused. His eyes opened wide in shock, his body stone-still.
"Alright, he's good for serving. Finish him up, Koori~!"
"I know... And don't call me by my name... Hah..."
Just as the blue-haired woman sighed, the snow that was gently drifting down over us... all came to a stop. It was as if a pause button was pressed, halting their gentle fall towards the ground... But the next moment, they moved.
As if they were guided by an invisible hand, the snow spiraled, melting into clear water, before forming what seemed like a giant serpent. A water serpent!
"Drown... and break."
With a casual send-off, she waved her hand.
The giant serpent moved at her command, slithering across the ground and slamming on top of the giant figure. It swallowed the big guy from head to toe in one go, splashing water around—or so I thought. But the next moment, the water froze, creating a spiky, frozen statue of a man.
Snap!
And with a final gesture, the ice figure shattered into a million smaller shards, leaving nothing behind...
{Careful—!}
But just as I thought everything was over, a warning came over me once again. A warning from myself, spoken in my voice, inside my head.
My body reacted fast, rising to my feet and running towards the blue-haired girl. My movements, however, were completely outside of my expectations. It was a leap that matched, if not exceeded,the brown-haired girl's earlier!
I could feel the muscles all over my body tighten and heat up, allowing me to close the tens of meters distance in just three leaps.
I could see the shocked look on the blue-haired girl's face as I approached and saw her hand move—probably trying to control the snow once more. However, I...
"GET DOWN!"
Pushed her away forcefully.
Just as my palm pushed her chest away by about two inches, I saw something flash and hit the center of my arm... leaving a trail of blood and searing pain.
And with a slight delay, a deafening sound.
BANG!