Chapter 176: THUNDERFALL
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But it was already too late to do anything. Xzavier swallowed hard as hell let loose with a crack of lighting and the roaring of thunder clouds.
With the scene set, Laddie unleashed his most powerful magic yet. It wasn't something he used often. In fact, in the mage world, it was often discussed in hushed tones. No one had ever seen it live, but there were terrible tales of it. Several versions of the stories called it so many names, but everyone knew it by one name- THUNDERFALL.
The name wasn't compensating for everything. If anything, the name itself actually watered down the whole vibe. It was every bit as destructive and as terrifying as it sounded. And for the unfortunate Xzavier, he was about to be on the receiving end of this cataclysmic destruction, only he had absolutely no idea of how ferocious it was.
After a very loud and terrifying thunderclap, a huge bolt of lightning tore out of the storm clouds up above and raced down to the earth, rushing at its target in one straight line like a celestial bloodhound made of pure undiluted electricity. Again, Xzavier had no idea what was about to hit him.
This bold thick lightning bolt that was charged with what looked like about a trillion electrons, struck Xzavier's body mercilessly. Babara, who had been watching the whole battle from inside the safe comfort of the tank, screamed in a high shrill note as what looked like divine judgment struck Xzavier neatly. She wasn't the one who had been struck, but Babara felt like her own heart stopped for a minute there. The whole sight had just been too gory for her.
She knew there and then that this was a sight she would never forget for the rest of her lifetime. She knew that all her future nightmares had been birthed in this very moment. This was something not even her worst self could conjure. This was the very definition of a catastrophic debacle.
Pitch blackness- that was all Xzavier saw for about a full minute.
"So this is what blindness feels like?" an even darker thought crossed his mind while he pondered on what it would be like to live like a blind person: "Am I dead?"
It was a morbid thought, but given Xzavier's state, it wasn't unjustified. He was right to think he had died. The powerful surge of lightning that had hit him was more than enough to completely obliterate any living or inanimate object. The first of his senses to awaken was his sense of smell. His olfactory nerves picked up the scent of what resembled burnt toast. The putrid smell wafted through his nostrils, reminding him that he was in fact very much still alive.
"How am I still alive?" he wondered. "Oh that's right...the custom black fitting suit."
Xzavier was under no illusion that he had been saved by anything other than that particular bit of gear. It had made all the difference. There was no doubt that Laddie fully intended to put him in his place, the shocking attack had shown that. And if not for the suit, then it would have been an entirely different story by now.
It took a moment for Xzavier to fully stir back to consciousness. This was funny because he had been on his feet the whole time, and yet his mind and body had completely shut down for a minute. Xzavier had done what no one had ever done; he taken on the full blast of Laddie's devastatingly disturbing Thunderfall and it had been no small feat. In the first few moments of contact, Xzavier had literally felt like every atom in his being had been infused with a million volts of electricity!
It had truly been a terrifying feeling. All at once, he felt like his body and mind were about to systematically implode at a quantum level. And just when it was about to be all over, it went completely pitch black for a whole moment. It was only later that Xzavier realized what had happened. What he had actually felt at that time was only 0.1% of the entire destructive force that had been vented on him by the old mage.
The custom black fitting suit had essentially cushioned the blast for him, but that little fraction that seeped through from the impact had been more than enough to knock Xzavier out. It was safe to say that if Xzavier hadn't been wearing protective gear, there wouldn't have been enough organic matter that would have remained of his body. He would have been completely obliterated by the raw, powerful surge of pure energy.
The entire circumference of earth around him had been burned pitch black. It had been so bad that it looked like the site of a meteor crash. There was nothing but charred black waste. Not even ashes remained. The earth had been only a bystander of Laddie's judgment, and yet, it looked like it had been the intended target. In the midst of all this, just as Xzavier was starting to regain consciousness, the military system chose that moment to update Xzavier on the current status of his gear;
"Major Mace!" Xzavier's heart sank, he knew that there was no way this was good news. "Be advised, the custom fitting black suit's defensive points' balance is zero!"
Xzavier's heart sank even lower at the bad news. On some level though he wasn't really surprised. Laddie's attack had packed quite the kickback, and it was sufficient enough to drain him of his points balance. But that was by the way. At that moment, his chances of winning the fight had been significantly reduced by more than seventy five percent. His health wasn't looking too promising at all.
There was no way he could continue to fight Laddie as an ordinary human. That would mean death for him. As Xzavier grappled with his new reality, he noted another problem. As he began to come to his senses, his sense of touch began to come back slowly. And with that came another observation; a black sticky liquid was starting to ooze from his custom fitting black suit. It seemed to come from the inside, and it melted like jelly.
Alarmed, Xzavier hurriedly tried to move his feet, blink his eyes or even open his mouth! But the force of the blast had entombed him in his own custom fitting black suit. It was a struggle, but when Xzavier did eventually manage to get a hold of himself, it felt like he would collapse at any given moment. His own weight felt like it had been tripled. Aghast with worry, with each passing moment, Xzavier felt like his own body was a collection of heavy millstones in a sack.
With the sticky black liquid oozing from his suit, and with him on the verge of collapsing under his own overbearing weight, Xzavier realized that he had failed. With painful regret, he gradually came to the conclusion that he had in fact been overly optimistic about the possibilities of him winning this fight. The loss of his custom fitting black suit was a significant blow.
It was the one piece of tech that had levelled the plain field a little. So, with it completely out of the way, Xzavier was merely a lamb to be slaughtered before the most skilled mage in the city. With nothing to support or hold on to, Xzavier felt himself falling back under the influence of the mild wind. That was just how weak he was.
Just as he lost balance, just as he was prepared to feel his skull crash on the hard rocky ground, Xzavier felt the soft warm flesh of a woman's bosom at the back of his head, catching his as he was about to fall. It was Babara. The dutiful Babara had been watching the whole thing in despair, and she sensed that Xzavier was dangerously close to losing himself. So, she had climbed out of the tank immediately, and ran to be by his side.
Babara wasn't exactly an athletic person. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually ran. Physical exercise had never been her forte, and there was a considerable distance between Xzavier and the tank. Babara had to cover a lot of ground in a very short time, so with her heart in her mouth, the former government official ran towards Xzavier, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be too late. She wasn't. In fact, as fate would have had it, she was right on time.
Babara caught him from behind at the dying moment, saving him from the undignified position of falling before his enemy in battle. But that hadn't been her chief concern at the time. What had bothered Babara most was the fact that the man of her dreams might be on the verge of sudden death. If she had been even a second late, he might had actually died from collapse.
The old mage was very much a gentleman. He had read the situation, and knew that it would be discourteous of him to continue with his attack. Embarrassing Babara would gain him no points. Also, it was clear that Xzavier was in no condition to fight. The fight was over. Xzavier had fought well, but the battle was over.
Laddie was impressed. He had to hand it to Xzavier- his skills were top notch. As an ordinary human who had no magic whatsoever, Xzavier had been able to go toe to toe with a top mage in a hand to hand combat. Not only that, but Laddie hadn't been able to break even with Xzavier.
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But it was already too late to do anything. Xzavier swallowed hard as hell let loose with a crack of lighting and the roaring of thunder clouds.
With the scene set, Laddie unleashed his most powerful magic yet. It wasn't something he used often. In fact, in the mage world, it was often discussed in hushed tones. No one had ever seen it live, but there were terrible tales of it. Several versions of the stories called it so many names, but everyone knew it by one name- THUNDERFALL.
The name wasn't compensating for everything. If anything, the name itself actually watered down the whole vibe. It was every bit as destructive and as terrifying as it sounded. And for the unfortunate Xzavier, he was about to be on the receiving end of this cataclysmic destruction, only he had absolutely no idea of how ferocious it was.
After a very loud and terrifying thunderclap, a huge bolt of lightning tore out of the storm clouds up above and raced down to the earth, rushing at its target in one straight line like a celestial bloodhound made of pure undiluted electricity. Again, Xzavier had no idea what was about to hit him.
This bold thick lightning bolt that was charged with what looked like about a trillion electrons, struck Xzavier's body mercilessly. Babara, who had been watching the whole battle from inside the safe comfort of the tank, screamed in a high shrill note as what looked like divine judgment struck Xzavier neatly. She wasn't the one who had been struck, but Babara felt like her own heart stopped for a minute there. The whole sight had just been too gory for her.
She knew there and then that this was a sight she would never forget for the rest of her lifetime. She knew that all her future nightmares had been birthed in this very moment. This was something not even her worst self could conjure. This was the very definition of a catastrophic debacle.
Pitch blackness- that was all Xzavier saw for about a full minute.
"So this is what blindness feels like?" an even darker thought crossed his mind while he pondered on what it would be like to live like a blind person: "Am I dead?"
It was a morbid thought, but given Xzavier's state, it wasn't unjustified. He was right to think he had died. The powerful surge of lightning that had hit him was more than enough to completely obliterate any living or inanimate object. The first of his senses to awaken was his sense of smell. His olfactory nerves picked up the scent of what resembled burnt toast. The putrid smell wafted through his nostrils, reminding him that he was in fact very much still alive.
"How am I still alive?" he wondered. "Oh that's right...the custom black fitting suit."
Xzavier was under no illusion that he had been saved by anything other than that particular bit of gear. It had made all the difference. There was no doubt that Laddie fully intended to put him in his place, the shocking attack had shown that. And if not for the suit, then it would have been an entirely different story by now.
It took a moment for Xzavier to fully stir back to consciousness. This was funny because he had been on his feet the whole time, and yet his mind and body had completely shut down for a minute. Xzavier had done what no one had ever done; he taken on the full blast of Laddie's devastatingly disturbing Thunderfall and it had been no small feat. In the first few moments of contact, Xzavier had literally felt like every atom in his being had been infused with a million volts of electricity!
It had truly been a terrifying feeling. All at once, he felt like his body and mind were about to systematically implode at a quantum level. And just when it was about to be all over, it went completely pitch black for a whole moment. It was only later that Xzavier realized what had happened. What he had actually felt at that time was only 0.1% of the entire destructive force that had been vented on him by the old mage.
The custom black fitting suit had essentially cushioned the blast for him, but that little fraction that seeped through from the impact had been more than enough to knock Xzavier out. It was safe to say that if Xzavier hadn't been wearing protective gear, there wouldn't have been enough organic matter that would have remained of his body. He would have been completely obliterated by the raw, powerful surge of pure energy.
The entire circumference of earth around him had been burned pitch black. It had been so bad that it looked like the site of a meteor crash. There was nothing but charred black waste. Not even ashes remained. The earth had been only a bystander of Laddie's judgment, and yet, it looked like it had been the intended target. In the midst of all this, just as Xzavier was starting to regain consciousness, the military system chose that moment to update Xzavier on the current status of his gear;
"Major Mace!" Xzavier's heart sank, he knew that there was no way this was good news. "Be advised, the custom fitting black suit's defensive points' balance is zero!"
Xzavier's heart sank even lower at the bad news. On some level though he wasn't really surprised. Laddie's attack had packed quite the kickback, and it was sufficient enough to drain him of his points balance. But that was by the way. At that moment, his chances of winning the fight had been significantly reduced by more than seventy five percent. His health wasn't looking too promising at all.
There was no way he could continue to fight Laddie as an ordinary human. That would mean death for him. As Xzavier grappled with his new reality, he noted another problem. As he began to come to his senses, his sense of touch began to come back slowly. And with that came another observation; a black sticky liquid was starting to ooze from his custom fitting black suit. It seemed to come from the inside, and it melted like jelly.
Alarmed, Xzavier hurriedly tried to move his feet, blink his eyes or even open his mouth! But the force of the blast had entombed him in his own custom fitting black suit. It was a struggle, but when Xzavier did eventually manage to get a hold of himself, it felt like he would collapse at any given moment. His own weight felt like it had been tripled. Aghast with worry, with each passing moment, Xzavier felt like his own body was a collection of heavy millstones in a sack.
With the sticky black liquid oozing from his suit, and with him on the verge of collapsing under his own overbearing weight, Xzavier realized that he had failed. With painful regret, he gradually came to the conclusion that he had in fact been overly optimistic about the possibilities of him winning this fight. The loss of his custom fitting black suit was a significant blow.
It was the one piece of tech that had levelled the plain field a little. So, with it completely out of the way, Xzavier was merely a lamb to be slaughtered before the most skilled mage in the city. With nothing to support or hold on to, Xzavier felt himself falling back under the influence of the mild wind. That was just how weak he was.
Just as he lost balance, just as he was prepared to feel his skull crash on the hard rocky ground, Xzavier felt the soft warm flesh of a woman's bosom at the back of his head, catching his as he was about to fall. It was Babara. The dutiful Babara had been watching the whole thing in despair, and she sensed that Xzavier was dangerously close to losing himself. So, she had climbed out of the tank immediately, and ran to be by his side.
Babara wasn't exactly an athletic person. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually ran. Physical exercise had never been her forte, and there was a considerable distance between Xzavier and the tank. Babara had to cover a lot of ground in a very short time, so with her heart in her mouth, the former government official ran towards Xzavier, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be too late. She wasn't. In fact, as fate would have had it, she was right on time.
Babara caught him from behind at the dying moment, saving him from the undignified position of falling before his enemy in battle. But that hadn't been her chief concern at the time. What had bothered Babara most was the fact that the man of her dreams might be on the verge of sudden death. If she had been even a second late, he might had actually died from collapse.
The old mage was very much a gentleman. He had read the situation, and knew that it would be discourteous of him to continue with his attack. Embarrassing Babara would gain him no points. Also, it was clear that Xzavier was in no condition to fight. The fight was over. Xzavier had fought well, but the battle was over.
Laddie was impressed. He had to hand it to Xzavier- his skills were top notch. As an ordinary human who had no magic whatsoever, Xzavier had been able to go toe to toe with a top mage in a hand to hand combat. Not only that, but Laddie hadn't been able to break even with Xzavier.
But it was already too late to do anything. Xzavier swallowed hard as hell let loose with a crack of lighting and the roaring of thunder clouds.With the scene set, Laddie unleashed his most powerful magic yet. It wasn't something he used often. In fact, in the mage world, it was often discussed in hushed tones. No one had ever seen it live, but there were terrible tales of it. Several versions of the stories called it so many names, but everyone knew it by one name- THUNDERFALL.The name wasn't compensating for everything. If anything, the name itself actually watered down the whole vibe. It was every bit as destructive and as terrifying as it sounded. And for the unfortunate Xzavier, he was about to be on the receiving end of this cataclysmic destruction, only he had absolutely no idea of how ferocious it was.After a very loud and terrifying thunderclap, a huge bolt of lightning tore out of the storm clouds up above and raced down to the earth, rushing at its target in one straight line like a celestial bloodhound made of pure undiluted electricity. Again, Xzavier had no idea what was about to hit him.This bold thick lightning bolt that was charged with what looked like about a trillion electrons, struck Xzavier's body mercilessly. Babara, who had been watching the whole battle from inside the safe comfort of the tank, screamed in a high shrill note as what looked like divine judgment struck Xzavier neatly. She wasn't the one who had been struck, but Babara felt like her own heart stopped for a minute there. The whole sight had just been too gory for her.She knew there and then that this was a sight she would never forget for the rest of her lifetime. She knew that all her future nightmares had been birthed in this very moment. This was something not even her worst self could conjure. This was the very definition of a catastrophic debacle.Pitch blackness- that was all Xzavier saw for about a full minute."So this is what blindness feels like?" an even darker thought crossed his mind while he pondered on what it would be like to live like a blind person: "Am I dead?"It was a morbid thought, but given Xzavier's state, it wasn't unjustified. He was right to think he had died. The powerful surge of lightning that had hit him was more than enough to completely obliterate any living or inanimate object. The first of his senses to awaken was his sense of smell. His olfactory nerves picked up the scent of what resembled burnt toast. The putrid smell wafted through his nostrils, reminding him that he was in fact very much still alive."How am I still alive?" he wondered. "Oh that's right...the custom black fitting suit."Xzavier was under no illusion that he had been saved by anything other than that particular bit of gear. It had made all the difference. There was no doubt that Laddie fully intended to put him in his place, the shocking attack had shown that. And if not for the suit, then it would have been an entirely different story by now.It took a moment for Xzavier to fully stir back to consciousness. This was funny because he had been on his feet the whole time, and yet his mind and body had completely shut down for a minute. Xzavier had done what no one had ever done; he taken on the full blast of Laddie's devastatingly disturbing Thunderfall and it had been no small feat. In the first few moments of contact, Xzavier had literally felt like every atom in his being had been infused with a million volts of electricity!It had truly been a terrifying feeling. All at once, he felt like his body and mind were about to systematically implode at a quantum level. And just when it was about to be all over, it went completely pitch black for a whole moment. It was only later that Xzavier realized what had happened. What he had actually felt at that time was only 0.1% of the entire destructive force that had been vented on him by the old mage.The custom black fitting suit had essentially cushioned the blast for him, but that little fraction that seeped through from the impact had been more than enough to knock Xzavier out. It was safe to say that if Xzavier hadn't been wearing protective gear, there wouldn't have been enough organic matter that would have remained of his body. He would have been completely obliterated by the raw, powerful surge of pure energy.The entire circumference of earth around him had been burned pitch black. It had been so bad that it looked like the site of a meteor crash. There was nothing but charred black waste. Not even ashes remained. The earth had been only a bystander of Laddie's judgment, and yet, it looked like it had been the intended target. In the midst of all this, just as Xzavier was starting to regain consciousness, the military system chose that moment to update Xzavier on the current status of his gear;"Major Mace!" Xzavier's heart sank, he knew that there was no way this was good news. "Be advised, the custom fitting black suit's defensive points' balance is zero!"Xzavier's heart sank even lower at the bad news. On some level though he wasn't really surprised. Laddie's attack had packed quite the kickback, and it was sufficient enough to drain him of his points balance. But that was by the way. At that moment, his chances of winning the fight had been significantly reduced by more than seventy five percent. His health wasn't looking too promising at all.There was no way he could continue to fight Laddie as an ordinary human. That would mean death for him. As Xzavier grappled with his new reality, he noted another problem. As he began to come to his senses, his sense of touch began to come back slowly. And with that came another observation; a black sticky liquid was starting to ooze from his custom fitting black suit. It seemed to come from the inside, and it melted like jelly.Alarmed, Xzavier hurriedly tried to move his feet, blink his eyes or even open his mouth! But the force of the blast had entombed him in his own custom fitting black suit. It was a struggle, but when Xzavier did eventually manage to get a hold of himself, it felt like he would collapse at any given moment. His own weight felt like it had been tripled. Aghast with worry, with each passing moment, Xzavier felt like his own body was a collection of heavy millstones in a sack.With the sticky black liquid oozing from his suit, and with him on the verge of collapsing under his own overbearing weight, Xzavier realized that he had failed. With painful regret, he gradually came to the conclusion that he had in fact been overly optimistic about the possibilities of him winning this fight. The loss of his custom fitting black suit was a significant blow.It was the one piece of tech that had levelled the plain field a little. So, with it completely out of the way, Xzavier was merely a lamb to be slaughtered before the most skilled mage in the city. With nothing to support or hold on to, Xzavier felt himself falling back under the influence of the mild wind. That was just how weak he was.Just as he lost balance, just as he was prepared to feel his skull crash on the hard rocky ground, Xzavier felt the soft warm flesh of a woman's bosom at the back of his head, catching his as he was about to fall. It was Babara. The dutiful Babara had been watching the whole thing in despair, and she sensed that Xzavier was dangerously close to losing himself. So, she had climbed out of the tank immediately, and ran to be by his side.Babara wasn't exactly an athletic person. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually ran. Physical exercise had never been her forte, and there was a considerable distance between Xzavier and the tank. Babara had to cover a lot of ground in a very short time, so with her heart in her mouth, the former government official ran towards Xzavier, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be too late. She wasn't. In fact, as fate would have had it, she was right on time.Babara caught him from behind at the dying moment, saving him from the undignified position of falling before his enemy in battle. But that hadn't been her chief concern at the time. What had bothered Babara most was the fact that the man of her dreams might be on the verge of sudden death. If she had been even a second late, he might had actually died from collapse.The old mage was very much a gentleman. He had read the situation, and knew that it would be discourteous of him to continue with his attack. Embarrassing Babara would gain him no points. Also, it was clear that Xzavier was in no condition to fight. The fight was over. Xzavier had fought well, but the battle was over.Laddie was impressed. He had to hand it to Xzavier- his skills were top notch. As an ordinary human who had no magic whatsoever, Xzavier had been able to go toe to toe with a top mage in a hand to hand combat. Not only that, but Laddie hadn't been able to break even with Xzavier.
