"FIGHT!" Bill roared at the top of his lungs, and the workers surged forward. Those few with abilities led the charge, while the rest followed with the stolen weapons and gear, knowing they were severely outmatched.
The clash was immediate and brutal.
Even though most of the ability users present were level 3, the guards had overwhelming numbers, especially when it came to ability users. Elemental strikes erupted across the hall with stray fireballs, wind gusts, and bolts of lightning striking the walls. It became clear very quickly that the rebels were fighting uphill from the start.
The guards were organized and disciplined. They knew who the threats were, and they targeted the few workers with abilities without hesitation. One of the two fire users was taken down in the opening moments by a coordinated attack from two Lightning user guards who electrocuted him to death.
Still, the workers pressed on. They had no other choice.
Bill fought like a man possessed. He used every trick his father taught him, every tactic he'd picked up from his time under El Diablo's command. His gauntlets glowed with a brownish aura as he slammed the ground to launch earth spikes to stall the advancing guards.
One of the guards was able to notice Ramsay's short frame working on the door, and he immediately shot a large fireball to end him once and for all; however, an earth wall erupted right before the fireball could reach Ramsay, stopping the fireball and protecting Ramsay instead.
Bill quickly turned around after barely managing to conjure that wall in time and stomped on the ground with all his might to launch a massive earth spike toward the guard who shot the fireball.
The guard didn't have a chance to react before the earth spike burst from the ground, piercing straight through his chest and jutting out the other side, slick with blood.
"Ramsay's still working, and my wall won't last forever!" Bill bellowed. "Protect him at all costs! If he falls, there's no second chance!"
The battle had barely begun, and already five... No, six workers had already been laid dead on the ground.
As the fighting continued, a stray elemental blast struck a pipe overhead, bursting it open. Water began to gush out, flooding across the hall in a growing stream.
In the midst of the chaos, Albert's voice rose above the screaming and clashing steel.
"Michael! It is time! Do it, now!" he shouted.
Without hesitation, the lone water user dashed forward and began casting wide splashes of water across the battlefield. It didn't do much damage, but that wasn't the point.
Jim, the only lightning user among them and the one who had taken the staff power weapon, stepped into the center, lightning crackling along his arms as he prepared to smash the staff into the ground.
The guards realized what was happening too late.
Jim drove the hilt of the staff into the ground. Electric arcs raced through the wet floor like a net. The nearest guards convulsed and collapsed, screaming as the electricity passed through their bodies, dealing a great amount of damage.
"BILL, ROBERT! PLATFORMS! NOW!" Albert called out.
Bill and the other Earth ability user hastily raised stone platforms for the rebels to stand on, shielding themselves and Ramsay from the electrical field attack created by Jim. Ramsay was hidden behind a partial earth dome, furiously working on the gate's mechanism with stolen tools and trembling hands.
"Ramsay, how long?!" Bill yelled.
"Almost there... just a couple more minutes!" Ramsay shouted back.
"Everyone listen!" Albert called, helping the last worker up onto the platform. "We've got one chance... Make it count! Bill, Robert, Steven... You're on defense! Use your abilities to keep the guards at bay and hold the line as long as you can! Nick, team up with Jim and combine your fire and lightning, hit them hard and fast! The rest of you, find a partner and fight in pairs! Watch each other's backs and stay sharp. We can't win this by being strong, but we win it by being smart!"
"Jim's fading!" someone shouted as Jim stumbled, sparks flickering weakly from his fingertips.
"Drop the platforms, someone help Jim!" Albert ordered.
Two workers ran to Jim's side, to try and delay the guards just a little longer.
However, the guards were faster as two massive fireballs exploded on Jim's body before the two workers could reach him, instantly scorching his body and incinerating massive chunks of his upper half.
Jim's lifeless and mutilated body collapsed onto the ground with a light thud causing shock, anger, and grief to rush through every single one of the rebels.
The guards; however, didn't pay any attention to Jim's body as they continued their assault by trampling over his burned body.
Given the amount of skills Bill had cast, he knew that his energy would be nearing depletion soon, he just wasn't able to sense it with all the adrenaline coursing through his body so he decided to reserve his energy and face the assault head on using his superior combat skill even though he was greatly outnumbered.
However before he could make his move, Albert turned to Bill. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"What?!"
Albert grabbed Bill's gauntlet-clad hand. "These! Why aren't you using them properly?! They cut the energy cost of low-level hand-cast abilities in half! You're holding back without knowing it!"
Bill blinked, stunned. He was able to feel the additional power boost that he received from wielding the power weapon but he had no idea they had that kind of power.
After understanding the great advantage that he had with these guantlets, Bill didn't hesitate as he summoned his Earth aura once again and began to spam punches on the ground, one after another, without any hesitation.
The entire ground within the hall began to shake and tremble as multiple spikes erupted from the ground one after another, from every direction, and without any pause.
Bill didn't care what this excessive use of his ability would do to him, as now all that mattered to him was to deal as much damage as possible and buy as much time as he could.
Not every guard was an ability user, and even those who were many had very weak perception, so it was very hard for them to determine where and when the next would erupt from causing several of them to lose their lives because they could react fast enough.
After a few moments, the hall looked completely different from before as it was now in ruin with a forest of Earth spikes that encased the whole area. Pained groans of the guards resounded through the hall as there were several who were greatly injured from Bill's desperate and manic attack.
Bill collapsed onto the ground from intense pain and exhaustion, as even with the reduced energy cost to cast abilities, he had burned his ability much more than his capacity and had completely depleted his energy reserves. The gauntlets slipped off his hands as he lay there on the ground with consciousness about to fade.
Thinking that this was the end for him, Bill just hoped that he was able to do one good deed before passing and had bought his friends enough time to escape.
However, before his consciousness could completely fade into darkness, Bill felt a sudden surge of energy that acted as a battery, jumpstarting his organs and bringing him back to life.
Bill's eyes shot open, wide and filled with shock.
"What the hell… just happened?" he whispered, weak and trembling, still lying on the ground. He could feel a faint pulse of strength now, just enough to move, to breathe.
As he regained his senses, he noticed Albert crouching beside him with his hand firmly placed on Bill's chest.
"Your story won't end here, young one," Albert said as he removed his hand and helped Bill get back on his feet.
Bill was completely clueless as to what Albert had just done to him, but he knew that now wasn't the time to ask questions.
The guards had already begun regrouping. Most were wary of charging into another trap, but they weren't retreating. They knew that they still had the upper hand in the fight.
Albert saw it too.
"I'll flank them. I can't fight head-on, but I can hit them where it really hurts," he said to Bill as he turned to slip into the shadows between the pillars.
"Albert, wait!" Bill said as he weakly caught his arm. "Ramsay's almost there. We can all make it out. Stay with us!"
Albert smiled. A warm, tired smile that cut deeper than any wound.
"My boy… who told you I ever planned to escape? I've been here too long. Lost too much. This is the only purpose I've got left in this cursed life... to make sure you don't end up like me."
Bill's grip tightened, but Albert pulled away and disappeared into the smoke and dust.
Bill tried to go after him, but his body was barely able to stand much let alone run. The guards soon broke through the stone spikes and prepared to launch their final assault.
Before Bill could make a move, Michael, Steven, and Robert all came to the rescue as they combined their abilities to push back the guard one last time, as in the next moment...
A loud shout came from the gate!
"IT'S OPEN!!" Ramsay cried out, already bolting through the now-unlocked exit.
For a split second, everyone froze. Even the guards.
Then—
A thick black liquid began raining from above, splattering down on the guards' position.
All heads turned upward. Albert had ruptured an overhead pipe, releasing a slick torrent of industrial waste that was very flammable. He clung to the pipe like a man possessed.
"GET HIM DOWN!" the warden shouted.
A blast of wind sent Albert swinging, but he held on, tearing the pipe open further. Another blast hit him, finally breaking the structure. The pipe fell right into the middle of the drenched guards, with Albert still gripping it.
"NICK! DO IT NOW!!" he roared.
Nick, the surviving fire user, was already charging a flame in his palm. The look on his face said everything.
Terror filled the eyes of every single guard and the warden as Nick continued to charge his fire aura while all the workers made their escape.
All except for one, Bill, stood beside the exit gate, next to Nick as he pleaded with him not to do this, as Albert was still amongst the guards, and that he would get blown up as well.
However, Nick didn't budge as he continued to charge his aura.
"This is his last wish, Bill... Let him go out the way he wanted..." Nick said before finally unleashing his massive fireball towards the guards who were soaked with the black liquid, desperately trying to escape the hallway.
The fireball soared.
The guards screamed.
All the while, Albert laughed harder than ever, his eyes burning with righteous fury. "HA! HA! HA! Burn in hell with me!"
*BOOM!*
The explosion rocked the warehouse, a deafening blast of flame and debris that flung Bill backward like a ragdoll.
Heat, fire, pain... it all blurred together.
When he came to, flames crackled behind him, and half the warehouse was gone. Coughing from the smoke, bleeding and burnt, Bill forced himself to his feet.
There was no time to mourn. Reinforcements could arrive at any moment.
He ran. Blind, stumbling, clutching his side... he didn't even know where he was going. Just that he needed to get as far away as possible from there.
The trees passed. Then came the forest.
Hours had passed, or was it minutes?... He couldn't tell.
His legs carried him on instinct alone.
At last, he spotted a faint light in the distance—a house.
One light on.
Bill staggered to the front door and pounded with everything he had left.
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
A young voice answered, opening the door. A boy with dark hair and a faint tint of green.
"…Mako?" Bill whispered, dazed.
Then he collapsed at the boy's feet.
**************************
Author's Note: Hey guys! Universal Power System is one of my favorite projects, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This is my very first work, so expect some amateur writing and a few slips. However, I always try to learn and correct myself so I can create a more coherent narrative. I hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to check out my other works!
Come say hi to me on Discord: https://discord.gg/TvjkrdnbE2