*BANG!* *BANG!*
Belle and Jane dashed in separate directions as Adam used his revolvers and fired at them both after slinging his fusion rifle over his shoulder. The rain of bullets only increasing in accuracy and speed as two mages buffed Adam. Ducking under metal shelves, crates and behind walls, Belle and Jane were stuck behind the steel wall of the lower level of the ship.
"Damn he's fast... those are revolvers, right?" Belle asked, clicking her tongue in annoyance as the steel wall next to her head was punctured by a finger sized hole.
"Mm. Unfortunately, that's his skill at work. He's a quick shot. Aim's not too bad either." Jane replied, tilting her head away from a bullet that would have put a hole in her left ear.
Having a speed skill, plus those revolvers and that rifle made things dangerous. They weren't like regular bullets, after all. They packed enough power to injure Hunters, Ethereals and dungeon monsters after all.
Belle grunted in response and ran out, shooting several Ether bolts at Adam, forcing him to dodge and freeing Jane up to move once more. Though Belle was immediately bombarded by fireballs, bullets, ice spears and lightning bolts that put her on the defensive.
[Master! Attention! Your ether reserves are near empty. Please absorb readily available Ether sources to remain combat effective]
And of course, there was the less than fabulous news about her energy reserves. The constant adaptation and firing of Ether attacks were draining her fairly quickly.
"Shit..!" Belle cursed and kept moving as Adam resumed fire and looked for Jane, who had suddenly disappeared.
"Where did she go..? Where did she go!?" Adam roared, his revolvers aimed at any unexpected noise.
"Boss? She's getting-" One of the mages called out in worry. Before he could finish though, Jane had dropkicked the back of his head and smashed his face into the iron railing and knocking him out.
"Aww don't leave me out of this, boys~" Jane teased as she backflipped away from gunfire and magic attacks.
This gave Belle the opportunity to close in. Still being on the first floor, she reinforced and drove her metal hand up through the metal walkway above and grabbed one of the mages who was spamming flaming arrows at Jane.
"Oh.. Oh fuck!! Boss!" He shouted before he was pulled down and hit with a hook that indented his head into the metal wall, ensuring he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
After that, it was just Adam. And he looked furious. Moving back, he avoided Jane's bizarre movements that left red afterimages. Her porcelume daggers and boot blades driving him back fast. Belle had leapt up to the walkway and approached him from behind, the sword of Extermination lengthening from her metal arm.
As the two closed in on him, Adam made a move out of desperation. He pulled the fusion rifle strapped to his back and aimed. Not at them. At the ship itself.
"Adam, stop!!" Jane shouted, her eyes wide in a panic Belle had never seen from her.
"I'm not going to fucking jail.." He smirked before pulling the trigger.
*VRRRRRRR-KSSSSH!!!!!*
A multicolored beam of intense energy cut straight through the ship. Adam severed the ship, nearly in half. The sea water began to rise as the huge ship began to fold in on itself. As a result of this, several unconscious Hunters started to fall into the giant tear, sinking into the water.
"Miss Vigilante! Go after him! I'll rescue these guys. Just don't kill him. Please." Jane asked, her eyes locking onto Belle's, conveying a feeling of genuineness.
Adam had leapt up from a large hole he punched through with the fusion rifle and was trying to escape. Belle looked back at Jane and nodded solemnly. She quickly leapt after Adam and gave chase. Jane sighed and stood up straight.
"Now.. I can save these sorry excuses for people. Even if I think they may not deserve it~." She added playfully before her body blurred with red afterimages.
Her sudden speed increase eclipsed the speed she had shown moments before. Her tail reached into the water as she pulled the Hunters to safety. It was clear her capability was beyond what she had shown.
-Belle-
*BANG!* *BANG!*
"Will you piss off already!?" Adam shouted as he shot behind him at Belle, running down the port to get away.
"Ghk..!" Belle grunted, using her metal arm to take the shots. The powerful impacts sending painful vibrations into her shoulder.
"All your guys.. you really just left them to die. They listened to you. Trusted you. And you-"
"Pfft! Don't make me fucking laugh! You can't be this naive. You really think that matters? This world is unforgiving. You wanna thrive? You should know better!" Adam mocked as he fired a barrage of bullets at Belle, who kept her metal arm up to take the fire.
Belle charged forward and punched Adam in the chin. Though his head tilted back, he was largely unphased. Even giving her a malicious grin as he slammed his head into her and shot her point blank in the gut twice.
"Ghk..!" Belle felt the shots hit her belly, the force knocking her down and making her feel like throwing up.
Adam stepped on her chest before she could get up and leveled the barrel of his gun at her head.
"This world's on a fast descent into Hell. The strong rise and get treated like kings. Like Thomas Andre and the other top Hunters. What's a man to do? When the world preys on the weak, you attain strength by any means. That's law of the jungle, lady." Adam stated, finger slowly squeezing the trigger.
But he had forgotten her tail. Belle's white tail yanked his arm back and forced him to miss. The tug was forceful enough to pull him off her, which allowed Belle to kick him in the balls and backflip off the ground right before his other revolver shot her in the head.
"You bitch..!!" Adam groaned painfully but kept his stance despite the pain radiating from his family jewels.
"Wow.. you actually tried to monologue before killing me? Psh.. thanks, I guess." Belle snorted as she ducked and parried more bullets with the blade of extermination. Her tail helping her spring off the ground and missile kick Adam in the face.
Adam stumbled back with a bloody nose, the pain making his eyes water. Belle took advantage and continued her kicking assault. A tornado kick to his jaw, a manji kick to his chin and an axe kick to his shoulder. She kept mobile and close enough to overwhelm the gunman Hunter.
*THWACK!*
Belle swept his legs out with her tail, pivoted her body and smashed him into a nearby steel shipping crate. The revolvers flying out of his hands as his body smashed into the hardened steel and moved it back three feet. She could even hear a few of his ribs breaking from the impact.
"And that crap about strength by any means? Excuses. The world's beset by monsters. You just chose to become one. Lucky for you we have laws that prevent us from just killing you." Belle stated after a long inhale.
Adam snarled as Belle walked over to place him in custody. His muscles straining against the warped steel until Belle got close enough.
*CLANG!*
Adam threw a vicious right hook, which was caught by Belle's non-metal arm. Belle reeled her metallic fist back, poised to knock him out when suddenly-
*Ker-Chak!*
He reached to his fusion rifle and fired the devastating beam straight into her. Belle flew back, body dragged through the solid concrete as the fusion rifle's beam started to singe her skin. Thankfully, her Adaptation gave her enough durability to withstand it better than the steel ship had.
[Master! Attention! Energy reserves nearly empty. Adaptations will falter when your energy source reaches zero. It is advised that you seek to refill your energy]
'I GET IT, FAIRY! I'm just a little busy trying not to die right now! God, it feels like I'm gonna melt!' Belle retorted, her jaw clenched in pain and frustration.
[Master, you can absorb pure sources of mana and ether via your fused arm. Need I say more?]
Belle's eyes widened.
"Huh..." She held her metal palm out, absorbing the beam's energy into herself.
*CLINK!*
The wheel over her head turned as she slowly stood up, holding off the destructive beam with her metal arm. A multicolored light radiating through the cracks of the arm, shining even through the outfit. The heat was still there, though now it was more manageable.
"What the fuck is that arm..!? You... You also made a deal with them!?" Adam panicked, his finger still holding the trigger.
Belle grunted and pushed through the beam, reinforcing her body with Ether and Mana as her energy reserves overflowed. Her body blurring for a moment before she grabbed the hot barrel of the fusion rifle and kicked Adam's head straight through the shipping crate, knocking the criminal Hunter out cold.
Before she could celebrate though, her arm transformed at the hand, turning into some sort of beam emitter.
[Master. Congratulations on unlocking the long range beam weapon form. Your internal energy storage has also increased by 15%. You are currently in an overcharged state and must vent out excess energy.]
"That is so cool... Okay.. let's do this the proppah way. Ahem..." Belle aimed her arm at the sky, more specifically, the moon.
"I'M PISSING ON THE MOOOOOOOON!!!!" Were the words she shouted before unleashing an unexpectedly large beam up into the sky.