He felt strange...Like he wasn't quite himself.
Maybe it could be attributed to the overwhelming amount of power he could feel coursing through his veins, but he had never felt this cocky, this self-assured, when he first heard of what the power of chaos could truly do from Gerald.
'Whatever, not like that matters.' His grin widened as he thought to himself. 'It's time for a taste test!'
Suddenly, before the sadistic soldier could take a step forward, Lec moved! Appearing right in front of the startled man in the blink of an eye, his right fist cocked back, ready to strike.
Aiming down, the shaken soldier instantly fired his pistol at the short boy, only for him to weave out of the way and plunge his fist straight into the shaken man's gut. The force of the punch sent him skidding back, his back hitting a nearby wall.
'What a rush!' Thinking to himself, Lec couldn't help but admire his newfound strength. 'And to think that I'm still dormant!' Although he had no time for any more self-admiration, he still had an opponent after all.
"B-brat..." Groaning as he limped forward, the injured soldier glanced desperately around the room, searching for anything he could use. It seemed like he had been wrong to underestimate the boy. Well, it didn't matter; he had some tricks up his sleeve.
Running his fingers along the barrel of his handgun, he'd suddenly place it in his holster and rush forward at the combat-ready Lec. "Well then, c'mon, brat. Show me how strong you are!" Yelling, he'd punch his fists together, two devices on them generating a shock.
Yet Lec wasn't afraid. Why should he be? A dormant human, like the soldier charging at him, has no business trying to kill him. "I'll show you, and when you're on your knees begging for mercy, I won't hesitate to kill you!" Yes, he didn't quite feel like himself...
A mad glint appeared in his eyes as he dashed towards the charging soldier, striking the man two times in the abdomen before he could even wind a punch. The impacts of his flesh against the man's body armor resounded through the mostly empty room, causing the cowering Maria to retreat further into the room.
The disgruntled soldier simply grinned as he was hit viciously; it was just as he expected. The boy was strong. But that was all he was. He had no fighting technique; his strikes were sloppy and untrained. He fought more like a beast than a man.
Feigning a right hook, the soldier would instantly launch a kick right at Lec's stomach as he tried to block it. It was of no use, though; the boy was too fast. He'd jump back as soon as he noticed what was going on, a glare on his face.
Although it didn't end there, the madman instantly dashed forward, pulling out two small balls from a pouch hidden away in his vest. Crushing them, he'd disappear as a plume of smoke engulfed both of them.
Growling to himself, the disoriented Lec tried his best to use his sense of hearing to detect the soldier. It was for naught, though; the man seemed to make no noise. 'The hell? Is he a soldier or a ninja?'
Lec knew he had virtually no chance of defeating his opponent in this environment because of the smoke. He wasn't experienced in fighting blind after all, or fighting in general, for that matter. Sure, he had gotten into a few brawls in the outskirts, but the gangs and poor people there were nothing compared to this. Besides, he lost more of those fights than he won.
Gritting his teeth, Lec now sorely regretted coming into this exchange with such a brash attitude.
BANG
A shot was fired through the smoke that Lec was barely able to dodge thanks to his speed. The bullet ricocheted into the white smoke. 'No fair! How can he see through it?!' How am I supposed to beat someone I can't even see?'
Yet, there was still a chance in his ability to perceive and control chaos. But how could he even hope to accomplish that? As it stood right now, he could only use the chaos energy within him to accomplish boosts in his power. And even then, he was only able to do this through a burst of raw emotion.
Thinking back through the past few weeks, Lec desperately tried to think of anything that could help him until... 'That's it!'
Earlier in the week, Lec had found out an interesting detail when the good doctor first introduced him to the Artificial Chaos. He was able to sense the creature's emotions somewhat through their link in chaos energy. It wasn't quite sensing, but it'd do just fine.
But a question remained. How on earth was he supposed to sense the emotions of a being who didn't possess an ounce of chaos energy?
'Hmm, so that's where the rat is...' Whipping his body around, Lec instantly dashed towards what he was sensing, and just as he thought... "Found you!"
"Huh?!"
Pouring all of his strength into a single punch, Lec would drive that fist straight into the chest of the shocked soldier, forcing their back to impact the wall and dispel all of the nearby smoke.
The vest bearing the G.U.N symbol was almost instantly destroyed. A cracking sound reverberated through the room as it was apparent that the madman's ribs cracked.
"H-how? How did you sense me?" He muttered in bewilderment while grasping at his broken armor. He held a look of shock, apparently he thought there'd be no way that his target would be able to detect him. Unlucky...
Sporting a wicked grin, Lec couldn't help but flaunt his achievement in the face of his damaged enemy. "It was rather simple, actually. I didn't really sense you, I sensed myself."
Dramatically pausing for a few moments to allow the absurdity of the statement to set in, Lec eventually continued. "At the beginning of our little exchange, I hit you with a full-powered attack, still brimming with an excess amount of chaos energy leaking from my body. A body that had just learned how to harness that energy."
"It was just a hunch, but I figured that I could sense that excess energy on your body, and I'd in turn be able to sense the emotions left behind by the past version of myself!"
The soldier simply stared at Lec with confusion inside his pained eyes. "That doesn't even make any sense!" Shaking his head in mock disappointment, Lec pulled back his fist once more and delivered a strong punch into the older man's chin, causing him to stagger for a bit.
At this point, the smoke began to clear due to the ventilation system, and Lec, wasting no time, used this opportunity to snatch the soldier's pouch.
Clutching the stolen pouch tightly, Lec quickly leapt back as the battered soldier let out an annoyed growl. "Persistent little freak..." He spat blood onto the floor before instantly drawing his pistol once more.
Without hesitation, he'd unload several shots toward Lec while charging behind the barrage himself, electricity crackling violently around his shock gauntlets.
Clicking his tongue, Lec twisted his body to avoid the incoming bullets, though the relentless assault barely left him any room to breathe. And just as he ducked beneath another shot, the soldier was already in front of him.
BAM
A crackling fist slammed into Lec's shoulder, sending a violent jolt of electricity through his body.
"Gah!" Stumbling back, Lec grit his teeth as his muscles spasmed uncontrollably for a brief moment. The soldier didn't allow him even a second to recover.
Punch after punch came flying toward him in a wild frenzy, bullets mixed in between strikes to limit his movement options entirely. It was sloppy...desperate even...but terrifyingly effective.
'Dammit!' Lec barely managed to weave around another electrified swing. 'He's trying to overwhelm me! Gotta end this soon...'
The soldier grinned through bloodied teeth. "What's wrong?! Thought you were gonna kill me without hesitation?!"
Instantly rushing in for another exchange, Lec tried his best to react to all of the hits in time, but sometimes a few slipped past his defenses and delivered an especially powerful shock.
Surprisingly, the bullets were easier to dodge. Perhaps it was because they were rigid in nature, following a straight path, which made them very easy to avoid. The fluidity and adaptability of the human body were very different.
Side-stepping a punch, the onyx-haired boy used his air shoes to propel his kick even faster than it usually was. 'Yes, I'm adapting!' The effects were almost instant as his foot embedded itself into the soldier's chest. A sickening crunch echoed out through the room as the sick sadist was sent flying back, impacting the same wall he had hit just a few minutes prior.
Crumpled in on himself, the once proud soldier hacked on his own blood. A sorry look on his face. Walking forward, Lec glared at the older man, a cocky glint in his eyes. "Look at you, choking on your own blood. You said your task was killing me, didn't it?" Squatting in front of the soldier, gasping for breath, Lec continued. "How pathetic...Do you remember what I said when our little fight started?"
The gasping soldier struggled to look Lec in his eyes, and a grin spread across his face. "Q-quit acting so high and mighty just because you managed to defeat a simple foot soldier; anyone higher up with just a bit more skill than me could easily make you eat those words."
"That sounds like whining..." Lec smirked as he stood up from his squatted position. "Well then, goodbye." Raising his foot, he'd slam it into the soldier's grinning face with all the power he could muster.
[You have defeated a dormant human, name unknown.]
Lec stood motionless for a few moments, his once proud smirk slowly leaving his face. 'W-what the hell was that???' His mind began to race as it became clouded. 'D-did I just kill someone?'
It wasn't the fact that he had just killed someone that upset him; it was how he had acted while doing it. "I won't hesitate to kill you?" Who the hell do I think I am? Sure, I've done some bad things to survive on the outskirts, but I've never taken a life before...Until now, I guess.'
Shaking his head, he'd try not to think too much about it; perhaps it was a strange effect of utilizing chaos energy. 'Maybe it enhances the emotions I feel? After all, I've never felt like that before...such hatred.'
If he wasn't still dormant, Lec would have gone as far as to assume that the increased emotions were his flaw. But he hadn't completed the first nightmare just yet.
Still, it was scary...
"L-Lec?"
'Shit!'
Turning his head to face the young girl, Lec tried his damn hardest to put on a happy face, but the rather bloody scene behind him made it hard. Maria seemed to notice, but she didn't seem to care too much; instead, she seemed terrified out of her wits.
Trying her best not to look at the dead soldier, she grasped Lec's hand as he instinctively flinched back at the touch, only to relax into it.
"Close your eyes."
Complying, the blond-haired girl shut her eyes as tightly as she could, while Lec carefully maneuvered both of them past the mangled body.
"Let's just go find your grandfather."