Erik and his team were outnumbered; there was no denying that. The Mambas, a notorious gang in the city, had brought more men than they had expected. Also, half of Erik's force comprised of students that, albeit being better than the average kid their age, had much fewer neural links, meaning less strength, speed, and power.
They were currently holding on because there were some adults with power much stronger than the average thug and were able to keep multiple people at bay.
But Erik's team was not one to back down from a challenge. They may have been outnumbered, but they were not helpless fighters.
They had trained hard in the past months and years, and they were not going to let the Mambas take them down without a fight.
At first, it seemed like a hopeless battle. The Mambas were ruthless fighters, and since the parents were in lower numbers than the thugs, the situation seemed dire.
However, four people—Adam's brother, Anderson's father, Mikey's, and Luisa's mother—had been able to turn the tables.
Mikey, Aaron, and Martha also needed praise because if it weren't for them, most students would have been dead by now. However, the situation was still dire since most of the kids were having severe troubles.
The Red Lotus Lounge was now a battlefield, with bodies scattered across the room and the smell of blood and sweat filling the air.
The Mambas had the numerical advantage and were stronger, but their fighters were not as technically skilled as Erik's team, and slowly the tide was turning.
Amber and Gwen were fighting together against another Mambas since Carl killed their previous opponent. They were using their combined skills to take down their opponents. Erik was holding her own against a female thug, Mia.
Benedict was in a fierce fight with a male Mamba wielding a sword, but he managed to use his weapon's long reach and quick reflexes to dodge his attacks most of the time.
Carl was in a state of rage after his son's death, and he charged into the fray, still fighting against multiple people simultaneously. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was not holding back his strength, delivering powerful blows to his opponents.
Matthew was watching the fights from a distance, his eyes fixed on the students. He was seething with anger that his men had not managed to kill them yet. He knew that the longer the fight went on, the more likely it was that his men would be defeated.
He turned to his men and yelled, "What the hell are you doing? Get in there and take them out!" His men nodded and charged into the fight, hoping to turn the tide in their favor.
***
Luisa Zamora stood in the center of the Red Lotus Lounge, sweat dripping down her face as she faced off against her opponent, a towering man with bulging muscles and a sneer on his lips. She knew she was at a disadvantage, as the man's strength outweighed hers, but she couldn't back down since the man would kill her regardless.
The man advanced on her, throwing a punch that Luisa managed to dodge, but barely. She tried to land a hit of her own, but her fist barely made a dent in his rock-hard abs. The man laughed, a sound that sent shivers down Luisa's spine.
"You're nothing, little girl," he taunted, lunging at her again.
Luisa moved her hands, creating a wall of flames that the man easily dodged.
She unleashed another burst of flames, but the man was too quick, evading each attack with a graceful ease that made Luisa envious. She tried to attack with more power, but the man slipped past her guard, striking her in the ribs.
Despite the pain, Luisa refused to give up, using her flames to create a fiery aura around her.
Sensing danger, the man tried to back away, but Luisa was too quick, and she launched a fireball at him while at the same time, she kept herself surrounded by a flaming aura. However, the man was still faster and easily dodged her ranged attack.
Luisa realized then that she was at a disadvantage. Her power was formidable, as she could control and create fire, but the man's speed was too high for her dexterity to allow her to aim properly. She needed to think of a way to catch him or at least predict where the man would go.
She focused a lot of mana on the palm of her hand and created a massive fireball, hoping to at least decrease his speed advantage by increasing the radius of her attack. She launched it at the man again, who was distracted by a random attack and hurled at him to see it coming. The fireball hit him squarely, almost engulfing his entire body.
However, despite the mana Luisa poured in, it wasn't enough to kill the man, as he circled his mana as best as he could to offset the flames and avoid going on fire. He still had some injuries, as he got some nasty burns, but those didn't prevent the man from charging toward her, his fists raised, but the young girl quickly reacted.
She sent a wave of flames toward him as he did so, causing him to stop in his tracks and shield his face.
Luisa took advantage of the man's momentary disarray and sent another fireball at him. The man raised his head and saw the ball of fire traveling toward him. He tilted his head and dodged the attack, which ended up hitting a chair nearby and setting it on fire. He then resumed his charge and approached Luisa. The girl panicked, then she felt a sharp pain in her side. She looked down to see a knife protruding from her stomach.
The man played her, taking his weapon only at the end. She didn't expect it and staggered backward, clutching her wound. She saw the man standing a few feet behind her, a wicked smile on his face. She sprawled on the ground and died.
***
At the same time, Serena was facing her opponent. She knew that her brain crystal power, which granted her super speed, would give her a way to fight for a bit, but if it weren't for Mikey's, Martha's, and Aaron's help, she would have been dead by now since her opponent had twice her neural links.
The woman was tall and muscular, with long dark hair. She was lean and had a pair of knuckle-dusters on her fists. Her eyes were cold and calculating and fiercely glaring at her, and the young woman knew she was in for a tough fight.
The thug lunged at her, and Serena couldn't help but feel intimidated as the woman took a step closer. The Red Palace student's mind raced as she analyzed her opponent's movements.
Serena was faster than most, thanks to her superspeed brain crystal powers. But it was clear that despite her brain crystal power, she was still slower than the thug; the woman was no slouch either, and Serena had to be careful not to get hit.
She dodged an attack by jumping to the left, and the woman's fist whizzed past her face.
Serena's mind raced as she tried to keep up with the woman's movements, but it was hard. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she dodged the thug's attacks, her brain crystal allowing her to react, but just barely. The Red Palace student then felt a pang of fear in her chest as she avoided the move.
The thug's neural links were giving her an edge, and Serena knew that she had to step up her game if she wanted to win this fight. She dodged another attack and tried to retaliate, but it was almost impossible for her.
Despite her speed, however, Serena found herself at an increasing disadvantage. The woman was not only strong but incredibly fast as well. Serena could barely keep up with her movements, let alone land a hit.
"You are not fast enough, girl!" the woman shouted with a smirk on her face.
She charged and landed a powerful blow to Serena's abdomen, sending her flying across the room. The student groaned as she hit the ground, struggling to catch her breath due to the devastating blow that knocked the wind out of her lungs.
The thug was on her in an instant, delivering a barrage of punches and kicks that Serena could barely block. Serena looked toward Martha, Mikey, and Aaron, but she noticed they were having trouble helping three other students and could not help her.
She knew that she had to think fast if she wanted to survive this fight. She concentrated, focusing her mind on her brain crystal. Suddenly, everything around her seemed to slow down, and Serena felt like she had all the time in the world to make her next move.
She saw an opening in the woman's defenses while she kept attacking her and took it, landing a powerful punch to her jaw. The woman stumbled backward, dazed. Serena followed up with a series of rapid strikes, her speed allowing her to land multiple blows before the woman could recover.
"Don't overestimate yourself, kid!" the thug shouted.
She wasn't out of the fight, as those punches were too weak to be a problem for her. She grabbed Serena's arm and twisted it, causing Serena to cry out in pain as the bone snapped under the force. The student struggled to break free, tears in her eyes due to the pain, but the woman's grip was too firm for her to break free.
The thug delivered a final blow, hitting Serena in the head with a powerful punch that sent her crashing to the ground. Serena lay there, gasping for breath, as her head partially caved in and her head spinning. The attack was too strong, and she was barely alive.
As Serena's vision began to fade, she thought about all the things she still wanted to do with her life. She had always been a fighter, but it seemed like she couldn't prove her worth in the end.
As she was on the ground, and blood trickled by her nose and ears, she looked to her left only to see Darragh Montgomery in the same situation. His battle must have been intense but despite his amazing brain crystal power, high-ranked brain crystal, talent, and skills.
They could do nothing against adults with twice their neural links. The difference in physical prowess was too much. Then she closed her eyes, feeling her body begin to go numb. As her consciousness slipped away, she knew that this was the end.
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