Ivanov charged, his heavy metallic form shaking the very earth beneath him. Behind him, the Ghlizan cheered, urging him to finish Rouchi.

"It seems you have quite the fan club," Rouchi sneered.

Ivanov reached the top of the stairs and leaped, bringing a massive fist down. Rouchi, gathering red lightning in his right hand, sidestepped the blow. With Ivanov's chest exposed, Rouchi drove his hand forward, unleashing a torrent of electricity. Ivanov screamed as the voltage convulsed his body. Seizing the moment, Rouchi grabbed him and shoved him down the long stone staircase. Ivanov tumbled, scraping against the stone, before digging his hand into the steps to halt his fall.

Ivanov stood and looked up to see Rouchi descending rapidly. He braced his feet. Rouchi collided with him, and the two grappled, tumbling together until they reached the bottom of the stairs, landing in a courtyard ringed by wooden houses draped in vines and flowers. Ivanov was on his feet instantly, his metal skin shielding him from bruises. Rouchi lunged, lightning crackling in his hands. He seized Ivanov by the shoulders and pumped electricity into his frame. Ivanov shuddered and roared, but summoning every ounce of will, he drove a powerful punch into Rouchi's gut, shattering the crystal armor and sending him reeling.

Rouchi glanced at his midsection. "Your hand is heavier than I imagined."

The crystal reformed, encasing his stomach once more. Ivanov rushed in, trading blows, but Rouchi was surgical, targeting specific points to paralyze him with electric shocks. Ivanov's movements grew sluggish; a heavy numbness weighed him down. Still, he managed to land a solid right hook to Rouchi's face, shattering the crystal mask and knocking him to the ground. Ivanov leaped high to stomp on him, but Rouchi rolled away, gathered electricity between his palms, and blasted Ivanov in the back.

Ivanov writhed, screaming, before turning with difficulty and falling to his knees. Rouchi approached slowly, red tongues of lightning licking from his palms. He raised an index finger, concentrated a sharp lance of electricity at its tip, and drove it into Ivanov's stomach. It pierced the metal shell. Ivanov spat blood, feeling the cold grip of death. Rouchi drove another finger into his arm—not deep enough to sever, but enough to send agony coursing through his skeleton. Rouchi raised his left hand as well, his fingers becoming rapid-fire drills, boring hole after hole into Ivanov's trembling, shuddering frame.

Ivanov knew this was the end unless he found a solution. He knew his ability wasn't limited to solid metals; he could absorb anything the earth produced. He had always favored hard metals for their defense against bullets and fire—lessons learned fighting Gaia's robots on Atlantis. But his time in the Ghlizan library had been well spent; he had read extensively on the planet's minerals. Most were conductive. Others were too weak to break Rouchi's crystal shell. Then, he remembered something strange. Something powerful.

He forced his battered body to focus, ignoring Rouchi's stabs, reaching out with his mind to pull a specific, unique mineral from the earth's depths. It flowed through the cracks and folds of the ground, rising to meet him. Suddenly, Rouchi saw Ivanov's body coated in something dark red and backed away, fearing poison. The substance fully encased Ivanov.

Ivanov opened his eyes and stood up slowly. "Allow me to introduce you to the strangest mineral I've ever encountered: Polarision. If not for your own Galactic Encyclopedia on geology, I would never have known of it. So, I thank you, Franks, from the bottom of my heart."

Rouchi knew Polarision well. The Franks exported it for vast sums; it was a rubbery, elastic mineral, yet incredibly durable, capable of shifting shape with ease. It was used to manufacture suits impervious to electricity and gunfire.

Rouchi gathered a dense charge of electricity. "Let us test its immunity," he snarled, hurling tongues of lightning at Ivanov.

The electricity struck Ivanov's gleaming crimson form and dissipated harmlessly. Ivanov grinned. He bounced on the soles of his feet, launching himself higher with every impact, like a rubber ball. He vaulted into the air and descended on Rouchi. Rouchi caught him mid-air, spun him around, and hurled him into a nearby wall. Instead of crumbling, Ivanov rebounded off the wall with doubled velocity, clotheslining Rouchi and slamming him to the ground like a professional wrestler. The impact shattered much of the crystal hardened around Rouchi's body.

Ivanov bounced back to his feet instantly. Rouchi, having reformed his armor, delivered a snap kick to Ivanov's stomach. His foot sank into the torso as if kicking a thick tire, then rebounded violently, throwing Rouchi onto his back. Ivanov bounced again, launching himself high into the air. He activated the second property of Polarision: shapeshifting.

Molding his right hand into a massive hammer, he brought it down on Rouchi's head just as the historian regained his footing. The blow thundered, shattering the crystal helmet and rattling Rouchi's skull. The world spun around him, and purple blood gushed freely from his forehead and ears.

Rouchi lost all composure, screaming like a madman. "Damn you! I will not die here! Not before I watch that accursed Tree burn!"

Rouchi spun on his heel and sprinted away, gasping for air, desperation fueling his flight. But Ivanov wound his arm in the air like a propeller before thrusting it forward. The limb stretched like rubber, elongating across the distance until it clamped around the fleeing historian's neck. Rouchi's heart seized in terror; he was helpless.

Ivanov yanked him back with violent speed. Morphing his left hand into a heavy sledgehammer, he waited for Rouchi to fly back into range before delivering a full-force blow to his chest. Rouchi took the impact squarely. The crystal armor shattered, and beneath it, ribs cracked with a sickening crunch. His chest tightened, air becoming a precious, scarce commodity.

Then, he heard it—the thunderous approach of giant machines on the horizon. The earth trembled, sending pebbles dancing left and right across the ground. A glimmer of hope pierced his despair. He resolved to survive, just until the machines arrived and opened a window for escape.

Buoyed by renewed hope, Rouchi scrambled to his feet. He engaged Ivanov with a flurry of punches and kicks, and the brawl intensified into close-quarters savagery. But Ivanov was a former soldier of the Russian Army. Hand-to-hand combat—CQC—was drilled into his very marrow.

Ivanov seized Rouchi's arm, twisting it sharply, then swept his leg behind his enemy's heel, slamming him to the dirt. Rouchi scrambled up again, throwing a desperate haymaker. Ivanov ducked effortlessly, grabbed Rouchi by the throat, hoisted him high into the air, and drove him back into the ground with bone-jarring force. Morphing his hand into a hammer once more, Ivanov rained down blow after blow, smashing through the crystal armor as fast as it tried to regenerate.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.