I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 55: Braun Ironside: Stage One!

Braun’s fist came down like a meteor strike, unleashing a shockwave that exploded outward. The Raven’s Crow guild building didn’t just collapse under the force, it disintegrated completely.

Walls crumbled into dust, support beams snapped like toothpicks, and the roof caved inward with a deafening roar.

This devastating blast didn’t stop at the guild alone; it tore through neighboring structures, reducing them to rubble and sending debris flying in every direction.

As the dust began to settle, a crater fifty feet wide marked the spot where the guild entrance had once stood. The sheer magnitude of destruction left a haunting silence in its wake, emphasizing the raw power behind Braun’s strike.

Around the crater, shattered remnants of buildings lay scattered, a testament to the overwhelming force that had reshaped the landscape in an instant.

Lizzie’s hands flew to her head, gripping her hair as her eyes went wide with horror. "The guild!" she screamed, spinning in place. "No, no, NO! The bar! The armory! The medic wing! The guys! Sam!" She paced frantically, her movements jerky and erratic, muttering under her breath. "All my stuff! My potions! My scalpels! My—my lucky bandage roll!"

Emma’s voice cut through the panic. "Focus, Lizzie! We’ve got bigger fish to fry!" She steadied herself. "And Sam likely got them all out."

Kurt could hear it in her voice. Emma convincing herself that everyone was alright, that Sam got them all out. And Kurt wanted to believe it as well.

She summoned Void King, the twin pistols materializing in her hands, and turned to Cassandra with a glare. "Now are you gonna tell us what the fuck a Nuclear Titan is?!"

Before Cassandra could answer, Braun’s voice rumbled through the smoke. "I’m gonna skin you all and make a kilt with your skins sewn together."

He stepped out of the crater, his massive frame silhouetted against the flames, and cracked his knuckles.

Kurt decided to make the first move. If anyone was going to get sent out to test out the enemy, might as well be him.

Though the one day warning left on his reaper detection didn’t make his choice an easy one. But he had come so far since he got the system. Kurt wasn’t planning on dying so easily.

Spoof!

He teleported and reappeared directly behind Braun, flames erupting around both fists as he thrusted his hands forward. "I’m very attached to my skin, see. And I’d like to keep it that way."

<Inferno Burst>

A concentrated wave of fire exploded from Kurt’s palms at point-blank range, engulfing Braun’s back in a roaring inferno.

The heat was intense enough to warp the air, to turn the ground beneath them molten, and Kurt poured everything he had into the attack.

When the flames died down, Braun’s skin was unmarked. Smoke rose lazily from his shoulders, but there wasn’t even a scorch mark.

Braun turned his head slowly, looking over his shoulder at Kurt. "Insect." He backhanded Kurt without even fully turning around.

The blow was so fast Kurt didn’t see it coming. His body launched backward like a ragdoll, careening through the air, and he slammed into a wall with enough force to crater the concrete. His vision went white, and his eyes started to roll back.

Then a notification appeared.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Knockout Prevention Activated]

[You are about to be knocked out. Preventing unconsciousness to maintain combat capability]

[Would you like to adjust your settings? (Y/N)]

Kurt’s eyes barely opened, his body still embedded in the wall, and he stared at the glowing text through blurred vision. He sighed weakly. "Son of a..."

Across the battlefield, Emma didn’t hesitate. She raised Void King and fired.

The bullet carved through space itself as it moved, and struck Braun’s shoulder. A chunk of flesh and muscle simply ceased to exist, leaving a perfectly circular void.

Braun grunted, glancing down at the wound. Blood poured from it for a moment, and then it stopped. The flesh began to knit itself back together, slowly but visibly, regenerating before their eyes.

"You’ve gotta be shitting me." Emma’s jaw tightened.

Cassandra moved next, her blade flashing as she summoned spears of ice. They shot toward Braun from multiple angles, aiming for his joints, his throat, his eyes—anywhere vulnerable.

Braun swatted them aside like they were made of paper. Ice shattered against his fists, scattering harmlessly, and he kept advancing, each step deliberate and unhurried.

Lizzie raised her gun, her hands trembling slightly, and fired. The green projectile struck Braun square in the chest, and for the first time, he reacted.

His body seized, muscles locking up, and he dropped to one knee with a grunt. The healing disruption spread through him like poison, shutting down his regeneration momentarily.

But only momentarily.

Braun’s eyes snapped up, locking onto Lizzie, and he pushed himself back to his feet. His gaze lingered on her gun, calculating, wary.

"Interesting toy," Braun muttered, and continued moving. He was more wary of Lizzie now but his rage towards Cassandra overshadowed strategy.

One second he was ten feet away. The next, he was in front of Cassandra, his massive hand wrapping around her throat and lifting her off the ground.

Cassandra’s eyes widened, not with fear, but with something else resembling exhilaration. Her lips curled into a grin even as her airway constricted. "Such incredible bloodlust."

Ice spread rapidly from where Braun’s hand touched her neck, crawling up his arm, freezing the skin solid. He grunted, shaking his arm, but the ice held firm, thickening with every second.

Emma didn’t waste the opening. She fired Void King again, but this time Braun moved. He twisted, still holding Cassandra, and the bullet passed through empty air... until it didn’t.

A small portal opened mid-flight, swallowing the bullet, and another portal materialized near Braun’s leg. The bullet emerged, shaving away a chunk of his thigh, and blood sprayed across the ground.

Braun snarled, his regeneration already working to close the wound, and hurled Cassandra at Emma with brutal force.

Cassandra’s body collided with Emma before either could react, and they both crashed into a wall, the impact driving the air from their lungs.

Braun smoothed his hair back with one hand, the ice around his other hand hissing and evaporating into steam.

He took a slow, deliberate step forward, and the ambient essence around him intensified. Streams of energy poured into his body from every direction, and his frame began to expand.

He grew. Nine feet tall now. Braun inhaled slowly as he took a step forward. The air thickened and Kurt felt it even from above. A suffocating pressure that caused loose debris to skitter across the ground.

<STAGE ONE>

Emma pushed herself up, groaning, and wiped blood from her mouth. "Okay, now what the fuck was that?!"

Cassandra stood beside her, breathing hard but grinning. "That’s Stage One. He absorbs ambient essence to evolve. His strength, durability, speed—all of it doubles."

"Doubles?!" Lizzie shrieked. "He was already a fucking tank!"

Cassandra’s grin widened, her eyes gleaming with something dangerous. "Stage Two increases his regeneration speed and his power doubles again."

Emma clicked Void King together in a meaningless gesture, her hands steady despite the blood dripping from her knuckles. "And Stage Three?"

Cassandra’s expression shifted, the grin fading into something more serious. "Berserker mode. He loses almost all semblance of control. And when he reaches critical mass..." She paused. "He explodes. Like a nuke. Everything within a 70 kilometer radius gets vaporized... running is pointless."

Lizzie’s face went pale. "So he’s a walking nuclear reactor with sauce. That’s cool. We just have to turn him past tense before... ya know." She gestured an explosion with her hands and face.

"If we let him get to stage 3, he still explodes regardless of what happens to him," Cassandra said flatly. "And even if you’re lucky enough to survive it, he just reverts to his base form and does it all over again."

"Fuck me sideways" Emma muttered. "Where the fuck’s Rook?"

Braun took another step forward, his eyes locked on them, and the ground cracked beneath his weight. "You done talking?"

***

Kurt forced himself to move. Every muscle screamed in protest, but he pushed off the wall, landing in a crouch. His vision swam, but he stayed conscious.

’Need higher ground,’ he thought, teleporting to the top of a collapsed building.

Below, he watched Emma and Cassandra engage Braun. The bastard was regenerating faster than they could damage him. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Kurt raised both hands, flames swirling around him. If direct attacks didn’t work, he’d need more power. Much more.

The fire coalesced above his head, growing, intensifying. He poured everything into it.

"Oi!" Kurt called out. "Hope you didn’t forget about me!"

He grinned through the blood on his face. "Hold on to this for me why don’t you."

Kurt hurled the fireball and it descended like a sun, trailing fire and smoke, and slammed into Braun with an explosion that shook the earth.