Shattering Humanity-Chapter 278: A New Challenger Comes To The Plate
"Thirty spokes unite around one hub to make a wheel.
It is the presence of the empty space that gives the function of a vehicle.
Clay is molded into a vessel. It is the empty space that gives the function of a vessel.
Doors and windows are chisel out to make a room.
It is the empty space in the room that gives its function.
Therefore, something substantial can be beneficial.
While the emptiness of void is what can be utilized." -Tao Te Ching Chapter 11
____________________
Silpheed moves and takes a step to the side so the chivalrous Maniae can place the ceramic plates under the water.
Silpheed(nods): "Fhng- ouu- Mhhniayy-.
Oummf- Ai’m- dnn- heear-, whh- knn- zdrrd- orr- dreyyniin- ivv- ouu- wahnn-."
The enthusiastic ’younger brother’ blushes and smiles wide.
Maniae: "Really?! You mean it?!"
Silpheed returns to the dishes with a nod to his question.
...
...
Maniae rushes his way to the second floor of the comforting home, to his and Arai’s shared bedroom.
He opens the door to a dark room and Arai is back in bed, sleeping.
Maniae: "Arai, we’re supposed to get up.
Mr. Nephilim-."
Arai: "That Old Fart isn’t here anymore.
I’m going back to sleep like how I want.
Don’t you have somewhere to be?..."
Maniae has a disgruntled look on him, but doesn’t press his friend any longer and gets dressed in some training appropriate attire.
He opens the door and looks back in the room at his best friend.
Maniae: "See ya later, Arai..."
There is no answer before he closes the door behind him.
{20 Minutes Later}
[Nephilim’s Backyard]
The sounds of impact can be heard coming from the backyard of the highly respected General.
Maniae: "Hyyaaaaahhhh!"
A punch thrown by the young man is blocked by Silpheed and the slick, face covered fighter swerves the momentum of the punch and flips the "little brother" to the ground using just his arm.
Maniae lands on his back but opens his eyes to look up and see Silpheed’s hand reaching out to help him up.
Silpheed: "Zrryy- ivv- dahhd- hrrd- ouu-.
Ah’ll- dry- doo- beh- lez- tuvv- uhn- ouu-."
Maniae smiles and takes the helpful hand up.
Silpheed’s strength pulls the young man to his feet.
Maniae: "Haha!
Nah you didn’t hurt me at all, Big Sis!
Don’t go easier, I need the challenge or else how am I going to be at Arai and Mr. Nephilim?
Let’s go at it for another round, I think I know how to get you this time!"
He squares up and from behind their face covering, Silph smiles.
Putting their fists up, Silpheed plays the defensive as Maniae comes in on the offensive.
Every punch that is thrown by the young man is either blocked or caught and tossed by Silpheed.
A right fist gets caught in Silpheed’s left palm and Maniae leaves his feet.
A thrown left kick to the head is dodged and now, with his fist still being held, Silph has Maniae tangled up and an arm behind his back.
The more trained fighter pushes him to the ground. Maniae rolls into it and gets back to his feet but doesn’t turn around in time before being put in a nelson hold from the back.
Maniae tries to break free but can’t and eventually taps.
Maniae and Silpheed rest and both are out of breath. While sitting on the fake grass in the backyard of his new inner dome home, Maniae lays down on his back.
Silpheed walks over to a small cooler and opens it up to pull out two ice cold bottles of water.
Silpheed: "Err-."
Maniae gets up and half surprised, catches a tossed water.
He starts to drink and turns around to see Silpheed take off their face mask, revealing their stitched together mouth.
From the small hole allowing water to enter, Silph carefully and accurately pours the water directly in.
Realizing this is the first time anyone other than Nephilim has seen the stitches, Silpheed’s face gets red from embarrassment and cover’s their face once more.
Peeking over at the curious boy drinking his own water.
Maniae: "So that’s what you look like under there..."
Silpheed is clearly embarrassed and starts to head inside, but the hand of the assistant to Nephilim is grabbed.
Stopping in their tracks, Silph turns around and Maniae has tears in his red eyes for some reason.
Maniae: "Why?
Who did that to you, Big Sis?"
Silpheed is shocked by the emotion being shown to by the "younger brother" discovering his new "older sister’s" unsettling bodily harm.
It takes a while before an answer comes through the cloth.
Silph: "Me-"
Maniae’s eyes grow wide and a slowly lets go. Both their hands dropping to their side.
Maniae: "But... But why?!"
Silpheed: "Bkuhz-...
Ai- wzz- weeg-.
Ai- wzz- yng-.
Bkuhz- i- dddt- hvv- Nef-ah-um Zr- doo- dell- mii- ebbridinn- wzz- go nn- doo- bii- ogay-."
Maniae can’t stop looking at his newly admired sibling with a hurting expression.
Maniae: "Please, Big Sis...
Don’t ever hurt yourself ever again."
Silpheed takes a deep breath and turns around with a smile through their face covering.
Silpheed: "Aii- bruhhmizz-"
Maniae gets an excited smile and hugs his Big Sister. He then walks with the General’s most trusted assistant back into the house.
Maniae: "I can’t believe you were tough enough to do that to yourself..."
From a window on the second floor, Arai is watching the two adopted siblings approaching the house from the luscious green backyard.
The blonde introverted teen sucks his teeth and moves away from the window while Silpheed tries to explain to the new little brother the best way to counter a nelson hold.
[Outer Sanpaku]
L’Orient DæMon: "Iiiikiiikiiikiii...
So you must be Skalmönd’s reincarnate."
Shelly doesn’t answer but keeps her grip on the Seax tight.
L’Orient DæMon: "Not much of a talker?
Well that’s fine, it’s not my turn to take you out yet, so we still have a lot of time to get acquainted.
But just so you know..."
She slowly removes her hood and from the back of her head, like before she exposes her left half of curly golden hair and right half of straight black hair.
However now, from her face reveal, L’Orient is an adorable little girl with two separate halves of hair styles and colors but to go along with her blonde half is the typical Valkyrie blue eye.
But paired with her black hair, is a familiar red eye.
L’Orient DæMon: "Iiiikiiikiiikiii!
I am L’Orient DæMon.
And if you hopefully beat my younger sister in two days, I’m your next opponent."
Shelly: "DæMon?"
L’Orient DæMon: "So let me guess, you figured out that boy’s ability and realized if you held your punches, he would think he was collecting kinetic energy.
Thus allowing you to overpower his eyes released energy and hit him during a vulnerable period in his symbiote’s ability...
Yep, you definitely are Skalmönd, alright..." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Katsu appears behind Shelly and with determination in his eyes he looks at the new threat to him and Shelly’s happiness.
Katsu: "Shelly, she has heterochromia but not with an alien symbiote.
What’s up with that red eye she’s got?
It kinda reminds me of that Nephilim guy’s."
Shelly’s azule eyes narrow, scanning her long lost "cousin".
From where she dropped, her partner Jean DæMon, has already transported the two unconscious men somewhere and shouts down to her superior.
Jean DæMon: "Like, it’s all set Mizz L’Orient!
I’ve totally, like, got that ’solo perspective teleportation’ technique mastered.
Hoorayzies!"
Down below, the latest Old Norse witch to reveal herself gets visibly angry, showing off her two little fangs.
L’Orient DæMon: "Will you stop shouting and just get the Hell down here?!?"
Jean DæMon: "Sorriez!"
Just like the little DæMon, the 2nd Generation hops from the slash in the building almost 20 stories high.
In a sort of out of place comedic scene, ruining the younger looking witch’s moment, Jean almost lands on her and the little girl in her cloak dives out of the way.
The gorgeous French girl with the deep voice lands the exact same way, in a three point stance, creating a slightly larger crater in the ground.
L’Orient DæMon: "Dammit Jean!
Watch where you’re dropping in!
You could’ve freaking killed me right in front of Skalmönd after I’ve been waiting all this time!"
Rubbing the back of her head, embarrassed, Jean chuckles off her mistake.
Jean DæMon: "Hehe, my b, Mizz L’Orient...he...he. "
Regaining her composure, the blonde 2nd Generation with bright pink irises looks over at the blonde Valkyrie descendant with pure blue eyes.
The two ferocious young women lock eyes from over 50 yards away and Jean smiles at Shelly’s hardass stare down.
Jean DæMon: "So this is the girl you’ve been hyping up, Mizz L’Orient?"
She cracks her knuckles while stepping up to the plate against Takamagahara’s Ace.
Jean DæMon: "Why don’t I give her a test run to see if she’s worthy of your time?"
