The pressure from the energy field was so strong that John gritted his teeth with enough strength to cut his gums. However, he endured and swung his hand forward to launch an opposing force against the oncoming attack, a Shockwave.
And at that very moment, Theodore’s aura began to swell.
With a twist of his body, he unclenched his fist to strike with a thunderous burst of sound that rippled the air and sent John flying back, taking down the trunk of any trees that dared stand in his way.
As John lost momentum, he leapt and lunged, diving towards him, but was surprised to feel a hand lock tightly around his neck and crushing his Adam’s apple in the process. With a slight upward tug, Theodore launched John and flung his body back up, bringing it crashing down at a fearsome velocity.
"This... doesn’t make...sense," John panted heavily as Theodore struck with both fists, only one missing as John raised his hands up in self-defence and barely managed to grab one of Theodore’s arms while the other connected directly with his sternum with a crushing thud.
This exchange would repeat several times before ending in a deadlock, with each fighter grabbing onto the other, but only John was feeling the exertion.
"Do you see now, boy? You are weak."
"Fuck..." John mumbled as he continued struggling in the fight. But then he found himself sinking, his feet suddenly stuck in mud. He glanced at his lower extremity and noticed the black pool spreading on the floor with no signs of stopping.
"What’s your next move, kid?"
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John frowned in annoyance. He wanted to hear what the system had in mind, so he said, "system?"
It was about time that annoying thing gave him the promised ability. He was sure he grew stronger than anybody during that time, but the System had not made good on its promise.
"Hehe," a raspy laugh erupted from the void and echoed all around him. It was creepy, but John knew it was the System. Only it could make such an unpleasant sound.
"Are you listening?" He asked and then called again, "System?" But to no avail.
John’s body continued submerging in the mud as his legs sank to his thighs. The mud had long since begun climbing his torso and now it was dangerously close to his chest.
Seeing as he would get no help from the System, John relaxed his body and focused his Energy on his feet as they began to burst Shockwave after another like a rocket, slowly but surely bringing him back to the surface.
However, Theodore did not remain still, "catch!" He threw an orange crystal in John’s direction and the crystal landed at his feet, close to his thighs and sunk.
The crystal then expanded as it began swallowing the black muddy, transforming the mud into stone and it spread through the entire forest and beyond the trees like wildfire. John tried activating shockwave multiple times but couldn’t get out as the muddy floor instantly petrified and made it hard for him to get out.
A hint of dread flashed within his eyes as John realised he may not get out alive unless he did something soon. John’s eyes began to glow red as a dark, ominous aura crackled around him.
His body shook uncontrollably as the energy glinting in his eyes turned into pure savagery.
"AHHHHH!" He roared as his fists swung wildly, punching at the petrified mud trapping him. With each punch, pieces of the rock broke off.
Theodore smirked and took a few steps back from John, then raised both his hands and gathered the yellow energy in his palms and charged.
But John continued to hammer away. His fists collided with the earth in rapid succession, causing his hands and wrists to cry out in agony. But the pain only served to increase the fury raging within him, propelling him to slam his fists down faster and harder than before, the more he lashed out at the floor, the more his consciousness slipped away.
At this point, his red eyes were no longer human, but animalistic as his punches landed harder and faster, turning the rock around him into sand, and his clenched fists resembled a boulder, shattering the stone and creating cracks in the petrified floor.
"John!" Maria yelled from afar, she aimed the cannon in her hand at John and fired.
Theodore reacted and waved his hand at Maria, using the wind to blow her away from the battle. But Julia appeared behind Theodore and smashed a blunt object on his back.
A loud thump resounded, followed by the clang of metal as the rusty baseball bat made contact with Theodore’s spine.
Maria quickly summoned her Artillery Cannon and fired a heavy, powerful cannonball in Theodore’s direction, but he caught the energy ball with his index finger and thumb, a sly smirk playing on his lips.
Stephanie’s eyes grew wider as Theodore turned around and redirected Maria’s attack towards her.
Stephanie closed her eyes, a single tear dripping down her cheek as she braced herself, but before Theodore could launch back the attack, a fist materialised from below his chin and, like a rocket, it blasted upwards and into his mouth. His eyes bulged out and his jaw shattered upon contact, the force behind the fist launching him meters in the air, high enough that his figure became minuscule.
Once airborne, a web-like energy bound his figure as John appeared below him with both fists surrounded by the shadow claw, his body coated in the fire aura and his eyes red with madness. He had become a creature of violence.
John punched Theodore’s face again, sending him careening towards the forest, plunging into the trees and wrecking several before he fell to the floor with a bone-rattling thud.
Suddenly, a flicker of movement caught John’s eye, but before he could react, a spear whizzed through the air, aimed directly at his chest.