I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 58: Braun Ironside: Stage Three!

Both Rook and Braun leaped back from each other, their boots hitting the ground simultaneously, creating twin craters in the shattered earth.

The moment they separated, Lizzie collapsed.

She hit the ground hard, her hands catching herself at the last second, and coughed. Blood splattered across the concrete, bright red against the grey dust.

Kurt was beside her in an instant, dropping to one knee. "Lizzie, you alright?"

Lizzie looked up at him, forcing a grin even as blood dripped from her chin. "I’m cool, it’s cool, it’s all co—" She coughed again, more blood spilling out, and her body shook with the force of it. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Kurt grabbed her shoulder gently. "You’re pushing yourself too hard, love."

The yellow aura surrounding Kurt, Emma, and Cassandra flickered, dimming like a dying light bulb. Lizzie’s hands trembled as she tried to steady herself, but the glow continued to fade.

"Sorry, guys," Lizzie wheezed, her voice small. "I think I need to—"

Kurt slipped his arm under hers, pulling her up carefully. Emma appeared on her other side without a word, her arm wrapping around Lizzie’s waist, and together they held her steady.

"You did good," Emma said quietly, her voice softer than usual. "More than good."

Kurt’s eyes shifted back to Rook, who stood a dozen meters away, locked in a silent standoff with Braun. Neither moved. Neither blinked. They just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Then a loose piece of debris; a chunk of concrete from a destroyed building, fell to the ground with a dull thud, and it was all the trigger they needed.

BOOM!

Both men charged simultaneously, and the shockwave from their collision rippled outward, cracking the ground beneath them and sending dust spiraling into the air.

Their hands locked together, fingers interlaced, muscles bulging as they pushed against each other with enough force to crush stone.

For a heartbeat, they were perfectly matched.

Then Rook twisted, lifting one leg, and delivered a devastating kick straight to Braun’s jaw. The kind of kick that used the locked grip as leverage, turning the opponent’s own stance against them.

Braun’s head snapped upwards, and he skidded back a few inches, his boots gouging trenches in the concrete. He grinned, spitting blood, and wiped his chin with the back of one massive hand.

"Not bad."

He rushed in, and they collided again, this time with twice the force as the ground shattered beneath their feet. Their fists suddenly became blurs, trading blows faster than Kurt could process.

Thoom-thoom-thoom-thoom!

Each punch created a shockwave, and each impact rang out like thunder. Fist met fist, blocked strikes sent sparks of essence flying, and neither gave an inch.

It was a stalemate of pure, brutal force.

Cassandra tried to move closer, her hand raised in front of her face to shield against the shockwaves radiating from their clash.

Each step was a struggle, her boots digging into the ground as the pressure pushed back against her. But she kept moving forward, inch by inch, and a wild, sadistic smile spread across her face.

"Interesting..." she breathed, her eyes gleaming. "Incredible..."

Kurt stood, still supporting Lizzie, and watched the two titans clash. "Shouldn’t we be helping somehow?"

Emma’s grip tightened on Storm King, her knuckles white. "When Rook gets like that, we’ll only get in the way."

Both Rook and Braun began to roar now, their voices merging into a guttural war cry.

"AAAHHH!!!"

Fists collided mid-air, shockwaves spreading like ripples in a pond, and then Braun’s fist drove into Rook’s gut. Rook doubled over slightly but immediately retaliated, his fist slamming into Braun’s face with a sickening crack. They traded blow after blow, neither blocking, just enduring and returning fire.

A towering twelve foot titan of blackened muscle, against Rook’s six-foot-five frame. Monster against juggernaut.

Then Kurt noticed it.

The streams of ambient essence flowing toward Braun were moving faster. The air itself seemed to bend around him, drawn in like water spiraling down a drain.

Cassandra noticed it too because her eyes widened. "He’s absorbing essence too fast. If he reaches Stage Three like this, the explosion will be immediate."

Kurt’s mind raced, and he looked down at Lizzie, still slumped between him and Emma. "You still have one shot left in you, love?"

Lizzie groaned, but a grin tugged at her lips. "I thought you’d never ask."

Kurt scooped her up, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back, and vanished.

Spoof!

They reappeared directly behind Braun, who was still locked in his brutal exchange with Rook. Lizzie raised her gun with trembling hands and fired.

But Braun saw them from the corner of his eye even while trading blows with Rook, and he vanished in a blur of motion.

The green projectile missed him entirely and struck Rook square in the chest. Rook’s body seized, his muscles locking up, and he dropped to one knee with a grunt.

"What the—?!" Rook’s voice was strained, confused.

Lizzie screamed. "Oops! Sorry, Rook!"

Braun cracked his neck slowly, his grin returning. "I’ll fucking kill you all." He muttered quietly and dashed toward Kurt and Lizzie.

Kurt swallowed hard, his eyes wide. "Oops?" He stared at Lizzie, already preparing to teleport again, but Rook pushed himself off the ground with a roar.

He caught Braun from behind, his arms wrapping around Braun’s torso, and lifted him off his feet. Then Rook arched backward and drove Braun into the ground with a German suplex that shattered the earth beneath them.

The impact cratered the street, sending cracks spiderwebbing outward for dozens of meters.

"Bloody good one, mate!" Kurt yelled, grinning despite the chaos.

Emma didn’t miss her opportunity. She raised Storm King high, and the storm clouds unleashed a massive bolt of lightning that tore through the sky, descending with brutal force.

KRA-KOOM!

The lightning struck Braun directly, engulfing him in blinding white light. Smoke rose from the crater, thick and acrid, and for a moment, everything was silent.

Braun lay motionless on the ground, his body smoking, eyes closed.

Then his eyes snapped open.

His body began to grow. Fifteen feet tall now, his form monstrous, and energy swirled around him like a living storm. The cracks in his skin glowed white, brighter and brighter, and the air itself trembled.

<STAGE THREE>

Cassandra sheathed her blade slowly, her expression grim. "We’re too late."

Braun stood, his massive frame towering over them all, and his voice was a low growl. "Normally, it would take a few more minutes in this form before the explosion is triggered." He grinned, wide and feral. "But fuck it."

Light began to glow from the cracks in his body. White light, blinding and pure, spreading outward like the dawn of a sun.

Where an unconscious Sam lay with the rest of the guild members, they saw the bright white light growing in the distance.

Where Zaza observed the battle from her hidden vantage point, she watched the fight unfold with that same blank expression on her face. Then a shadow formed beneath her, and she began to sink slowly into it.

"I still want to see it..." her voice faded as her body disappeared, leaving just half her head above the shadow before it vanished entirely.

The white light engulfed everything—Cassandra, Lizzie, Kurt, Rook, Emma.

Rook turned back toward the guild, where the survivors huddled together in the distance, and he smiled.

Emma saw it. Lizzie saw it. Kurt read their expressions and knew in that instant that Rook was about to do something they didn’t approve of.

Emma’s eyes went wide, and she screamed, confirming what Kurt suspected. "No! Don’t do it! Don’t fucking do it!"

But Rook was already moving.

***

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