Chapter 77: Growth
--- [Alex’s perspective]
The boy runs at me and goes for a punch.
This time I’m prepared for his strength, so I’m able to easily block it.
However…
He’s stronger now.
After he ate a piece of the wall, he grew a little larger and became a little stronger.
“Eat more, Shiki! You need to get stronger!” – Miki
“Okay.” – Shiki
He yet again grabs a piece of the wall, then stuffs it down his throat.
He grows a little bigger…
How much stronger did that make him?
He goes for another punch.
I grab his fist with my hand, completely stopping it.
He’s still not strong enough to overpower me, but the difference is definitely noticeable.
If I don’t do anything, he may very well grow stronger than me.
If that happens, it might be too late…
But…
I can’t just beat up a god damn kid either!
“Listen kid, I’m clearly stronger than you. Just give up right now and I won’t hurt you.” – Alex
“You…! How many times do I have to tell you?! Don’t underesti-… Whatever. You won’t listen anyways. We’ll just show you instead!” – Miki
“Shiki!” – Miki
“Yes?!” – Shiki
“Eat more! I’ll distract him!” – Miki
“Okay!” – Shiki
Shiki starts shoveling down bits and pieces of the wall.
While he does that, Miki runs towards me and starts punching me over and over and over again.
Shiki continues to grow bigger and bigger.
“MORE, SHIKI!” – Miki
“OGEI!” – Shiki
His cheeks are stuffed full of ‘food’…
I can just ignore the girl, she’s incredibly weak after all.
He might become a problem though, so I’ll have to stop him as soon as possible.
Wait…!
I quickly turn my head and look down at the girl.
She continues to throw her barrage of punches.
After I looked down, she punches me exactly one more time before I decide to jump away from her.
“What the…?!” – Alex
Am I just imagining things?
No…
Each and every hit of hers is stronger than the last.
“You finally get it, huh? YAHAHAHA!” – Miki
It’s not just the brother that is growing stronger, she is too…
He finishes eating his food then walks over to his sister.
He’s much bigger than before.
His muscles are swollen up to an insane degree, and his skin is…
Blue?
“My brother can turn any non-living thing into food that makes him stronger for a short duration when he eats it.” – Miki
“And my sister will get stronger and stronger every time she hits someone, but only against that person.” – Shiki
“There is no limit to our growth.” – Miki
“You either beat us now, or never.” – Shiki
“Although it may already be too late for you…” – Miki
Shiki dashes forwards and throws a punch.
I need to know how strong he is…
I grab his fist just like last time, but…
He’s able to push me back!
He pulls his fist back and throws another punch.
He’s definitely strong enough to hurt me now; I need to start dodging.
I jump backwards, easily avoiding his attack, but…
I feel something hit me in the back…
It’s Miki!
“TAKE THIS AND THIS AND THIS!” – Miki
She got three more punches in.
Her third punch even makes me stumble forward a bit.
The boy quickly follows up by trying to uppercut me, but I jump to the side, evading his attack.
I can’t keep doing this…
I have to fight back!
They’re a big enough threat for me to be unable to ignore them any longer.
It feels weird having to fight kids, but there are no other options.
I’ll hold back just enough to not kill them, but other than that, I’ll have to fight seriously…
“More, Shiki! Eat more!” – Miki
He’s tall enough now to reach the ceiling, so he grabs a bunch of pieces and quickly swallow them.
I dash over to him and throw a punch straight at his jaw.
“Watch out!” – Miki
“Huh? GAHH!!!” – Shiki
He goes flying across the room.
That should be enough…
I look over at the girl.
“Sorry about that, but you left me no choice. You were right, I couldn’t just ignore you.” – Alex
She looks scared, but she tries not to show it.
She puts her hands up, entering her fighting stance.
“Come on then! I’ll take you on myself!” – Miki
She’s really short, so throwing a punch is a hassle.
I instead go for a kick.
She tries to duck under my kick, but she’s not fast enough.
!!!
Just as my kick is about to land, I feel my body being crushed.
“Don’t hurt my sister!” – Shiki
That didn’t knock him out?!
I turn my head around and…
He’s even bigger and even bluer than before.
There’s a large hole in the floor where he landed.
He must have eaten even more…
He wrapped his arms around my entire body and is squeezing as hard as he can.
Just as I’m about to break out, he lifts me up and slams me down headfirst into the ground behind him.
“GUAHHH!” – Alex
He lets go of me and I fall down.
Miki quickly runs over and starts kicking me while I’m down.
Her kicks are getting heavier and heavier.
Her final kick launches me into the wall and almost breaks my arm.
She’s about as strong as he is now…
Shit!
I let it go on for too long…
My specialty is useless here too; there is nothing for me to absorb.
What do I do…?
--- [Lett’s perspective]
“Help me stand up, darling.” – Cinder
“Okay…” – Lett
I help her get back up on her feet.
Why was I fighting her again?
She’s so…
Beautiful.