Chapter 77 Mid-Battle Flare

"I'll freeze him from here and you'll need to finish them off before Evan's shield comes back. I think another forty-five seconds or so and it'll be back." Olivia raised her hands. She created to small circles with both of her index and thumbs and put them together. She pointed it towards Ritsuka and took a deep breath.

Ritsuka sliced the air and the white energy dissipated. Angerfang pulsed a bright red and he smiled at Lee Seng.

"Angerfang can literally eat Dark Matter. How's that--"

"Angerfang: Repulsion." Ritsuka sliced at the air and all of the pulsing energy flew out. Angerfang went back to normal and all of the Dark Matter energy was now coming at Olivia and Lee Seng.

"Dammit." Lee Seng dropped the bow. The wisps began fly around Lee Seng, quickly. "I can do this. I can do this."

"L-Lee!" Olivia shouted. She started to lower her hands when Lee Seng stuck his hand out. His hand shook and he didn't dare turn away from the large red energy flying at them.

"Focus on the stun. I got this." Lee Seng said.

"B-but, can you really push all of it away with your gravity?"

"Who said I was gonna push it?" Lee Seng smiled. "Now's the time to test, right?"

"T-test?!? You're gonna test now?"

Lee Seng's smile turned to a grin. He moved himself forward and raised his hands. He didn't want to admit to Olivia it was a risky play, but after seeing Ritsuka's scythe eat all of the resonance shot energy and his own Dark Matter energy, he felt like he needed to prove to himself, he could do it too.

Angerfang: Repulsion flew closer and closer and Lee Seng's grin widened to a full-out smile.

"Now!" Lee Seng growled. The wisps shot towards the red energy. The two energies collided and the white wisps started to spread to cover the rest of the red energy wave. Lee Seng shoved his hands forward and moved his hands to spread his arms out wide. The white wisps mimicked Lee Seng's motion and started to grab the energy.

Lee Seng screamed as he pulled his hands close to him. The white wisps pulled the red energy and began to squeeze it together, pulling back to their master. The red energy followed the wisps and rushed at Lee Seng. The energy slammed into Lee Seng as the white wisps made contact with him. The energy threw him backwards and he slammed into the ground.

"Ahhh!" Lee Seng screamed in pain as his hands shook. He needed the wisps to consume the energy before he would take all of the attack's damage. He squeezed and released and the wisps ate their way through the red energy. The red energy dissipated and the rest of the attack shoved Lee Seng closer towards the arena line.

Lee Seng threw his hand over his head and shot a blast of gravity out. It started to slow him and he began to release more gravity to force himself to a stop.

"Dammit, stop!" Lee Seng shouted. The world around him flickered and he instantly stopped. The arena noise suddenly died and Lee Seng huffed as he laid on the ground. He could hear himself breathing loudly. He pushed himself up and looked around.

"Olivia?" Lee Seng spoke. He glanced around. Olivia wasn't where he last saw her. He didn't see any of the exam takers in the bleachers nor the staff members around the gymnasium. He didn't even see where Ritsuka or Evan were. He was completely alone. Lee Seng pushed himself onto his feet and looked around.

The gymnasium was run-down and dirtied. The floor beneath his feet was cracked and weeds were growing out of the cracks. Nature seemingly overtook the area.

"Where am--"

Lee Seng's abdomen flared in pain. He clutched his stomach and fell onto his knees. His heavy breaths echoed. He squeezed his burnt shirt and lowered his head.

'What's happening to me?' Lee Seng screamed in his head. He clutched his stomach for awhile before the pain suddenly disappeared. The world around him flickered around him and a familiar man stood twenty feet away from him. He reached out for the man. The man turned, ignoring him and started to walk away.

Lee Seng pushed himself to ignore the pain and stood up. He stumbled over towards the man.

"Hey, what the hell is happening?" Lee Seng shouted. He waved his hands in the air but the man kept walking. The man stepped out of the raised crack and weedy arena and disappeared. Lee Seng stumbled a couple more steps forward and watched everything around him flicker. The flickering grew and suddenly the arena cheers were heard.

"Lee, hurry up! He's stunned!" Olivia shouted. She whipped her head backwards and didn't see him. She turned back and saw Lee Seng standing five feet in front of her, clutching his stomach. Lee Seng shook his head. His shirt was ripped and in tatters. It mimicked a button-up shirt left unbuttoned. "Lee, hurry up!"

Lee Seng turned to look at Olivia. He gave her a confused look and watched her point at Ritsuka. Ritsuka was frozen in place and Evan was panicking. The eerie feeling was lingering in his chest. Lee seng shook his head lifted his hand.

'I have no clue what the hell is happening, but I'm not gonna let this pass.' Lee Seng thought. He shoved a huge wave of gravity forwards and watched as the frozen Ritsuka was pushed backwards. Ritsuka flew backwards into Evan and the two tumbled towards the arena line. Lee Seng pulled his arm back, ready for another shot when the flickering began again.

"No. Please, no." Lee Seng said. He threw his arm out and watched as the world around him turned back into the eerie, run-down gym. The man all in black stood closer to Lee Seng. He wore a fedora hat and was in formal clothes. He looked like he was attending some sort of... funeral. The man had no facial features, but Lee Seng could feel his stare.

"W-who are you?" Lee Seng stuttered. He stumbled backwards, landing on his butt and squirming away. The burning feeling in his stomach was growing. The fedora man simply watched him. Lee Seng squirmed away, fear building inside of him like the burning feeling in his stomach. The man in the fedora hat watched Lee Seng squirm further away.

He didn't move. He didn't make a single noise and Lee Seng could feel the man staring at him. The man's featureless facial features weren't there, but Lee Seng knew when someone was watching him. Lee Seng stared in fear for a long time. His panicked, quick breathed noises echoed for a long time.

Time passed and the man in the fedora hat finally moved. He slipped his black gloved hands into his black overcoat and pulled out a card. He flicked it towards Lee Seng. The card found its place right in front of him. The card was black with gold rectangle borders and a five letter word in gold that read 'Limbo'.

Lee Seng grabbed the card and turned it around. Gold text began to appear before his eyes on the card.

What's a living person doing in Limbo? You shouldn't be here. You aren't one of them.

Lee Seng looked up at the man in the fedora hat. He had his hands at his side and he hadn't budged.

"L-limbo? I'm in L-limbo?" Lee Seng stuttered. He looked at the card and the golden text had disappeared. He waited for a response from the card or the fedora hat man, but got nothing. "H-how do I get back?" He watched as the gold text started to appear across the card.

You reek like one of them, but you aren't one of them. You aren't welcomed here. If you want to go back, then go back.

? "But I don't know how I got here!" Lee Seng shouted. He waved the card and his frustration snapped his fear in half. He stood up and took a step towards the man in the fedora hat. He waved the card in his hand and shook his head. "I suddenly got pulled into here. I suddenly got pulled out back to where I belong but then was pulled back in here."

The man in the fedora hat raised his left hand and the card pulled out of Lee Seng's hand and landed in-between the fedora hat man's fingers. Lee Seng watched as a mouth appeared on the man's featureless face.

"Leave." The rough voice spoke. It sounded like a mix of sandpaper grinding together and a demonic voice from the old horror movies Lee Seng watched.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, I can't!" Lee Seng shouted. The fedora hat man's lips curled before he finally took a step forward. The card in-between his fingers turned to ash and the man lowered his hand back to his side. Lee Seng's 'profound courage' died instantly and he started to back up.

"The Realmwalkers think they can do whatever they see fit." The fedora hat man said. He clicked his tongue and Lee Seng froze in place.