Only I Can Adapt: Genetic Evolution System-Chapter 51: Adapting To The Unbreakable

There was no opportunity to think as a flash of light triggered his instincts. He leaned back, avoiding the swift retaliation from the fulminare in the form of a beam of heat.

It passed right over him; a line of burning energy that sharply swept across the air. One touch with it, he knew it would pass through flesh and bone all the same. The mile of red-hot energy swept into the neighboring building, cutting through as though they were made of paper.

Around the street, chunks of skyscrapers collapsed, raining down in an urban shower alongside the bright embers.

As he straightened himself up, he immediately found himself greeted by a great ball of fire, colliding into his vision. The mass of heat swallowed him, though he found his flesh not yielding to the temperature.

’Your fire can’t burn me anymore,’ he resolved.

Within his body, the ever-evolving cells worked to combat the heat. From the memories of those he encountered, those he faced, inspiration was drawn from the frost-wielding fulminare. He recalled it in the deepest depths of his consciousness–"Alta."

As the fire pushed against his body, an air of winter expelled from his skin, cooling him off as the frost breathed through his hair.

[Spontaneous Evolution: "Sub-Zero Structure"]

With forward steps, he advanced on the enemy without stopping. The heat bore no consequence on his skin as he expelled a cold breath past his lips, waving his hand towards the towering invader as a wave of cold followed.

It was as natural as one of his own limbs, manipulating the frost as it manifested into a sharp uprising, enveloping the burning figure.

"You believe you can subdue my fire with ice?" Ignatius questioned, calmly analyzing the icy hold that gripped his body.

As swiftly as it formed, the frost was cast to vapor by the abnormal body of the fulminare. A single flex dismissed the ice, only seeming to accelerate Ignatius’ aggression as he chased towards the lonesome man.

Seven moved back with quick backsteps, snapping his fingers as icicles formed in the air around him. Each fired like bullets from a sniper, though only shattered upon impact against the golden skin.

"Fascinating abilities–feeble, but fascinating," Ignatius remarked, dashing in, swatting away a stationary car between them.

While he attempted to form a wall of ice, it was blown through as he found the fulminare’s hand lunging onto his throat. The grip was like a serpent’s jaws, each finger squeezing around his neck like its fingers.

Any attempt at breathing was stifled as he could only swing his legs, hoisted into the air like caught prey before being returned to the earth. The wind was knocked out as his back was burrowed into the asphalt.

["I’ve been fighting just to buy time this entire time. I need to fight to win–to kill."]

As his breathless lungs ached, he wrapped his legs around the hulking arm of the fulminare destroyer, squeezing his hands on the wrist. With his utmost strength, he began to contort the joins of the extraterrestrial figure, though it felt like wrestling a whale beneath the waves.

[Resistance against total body strength recognized. Adjusting muscular structure and integrity–converting kinetic energy into strength.]

Every second, his muscles tore apart, rebuilding as quickly as they were shredded. The continuous evolutions throughout his body accelerated the more he squeezed, fighting against the fulminare’s own strength as his body was lifted. He held on, not letting go as he twisted the wrist around, just mere inches from snapping it as he was hoisted above Ignatius’ head before–

"Nnrgh!"

"Ruuuah!"

–His muscles swelled with one final push, sending a deafening "snap" out into the burnt city block just as he was slammed back down. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

It was difficult to determine who got the greater end of the exchange. Even as he felt his entire skeleton fracture and his brains jumble in his skull, spitting out blood, he felt a sense of triumph.

He broke the unbreakable; even if it was merely a crack in a wall that stretched miles, it was a breakthrough.

The figure of flaming hair looked at his swollen wrist before grasping it, twisting it into place without blinking, "A human with strength comparable to our own race. You burned in my fire, then you reformed yourself. Then, my fire did not dissuade you. With each exchange, it seems your strength multiplied. You are a fascinating existence, defender of Earth," Ignatius analyzed.

"—" Seven stabilized his breathing as his ribs reformed around his bludgeoned lungs.

Like a statue of Greek mythos, the figure stood tall, extending his hand, "You would be of great service in the Legion. Join us, and we will cleanse the universe of corruption."

It was a perplexing offer, one that left him absent from a response as he stood there. Part of it was the fact that his body was in the process of rebuilding itself, as his skeletal structure solidified beneath his skin.

The other part, felt a sense of disgust.

"Join you?"

"Yes," Ignatius reaffirmed, pointing to the sky. "There’s much more out there than this world. So much that needs the strength of many."

"You’re offering me a place in your army. Yet here you are, trying to wipe this out–my city, my comrades," Seven responded.

"If you joined, they would be spared–"

"And made into cannon fodder for the "legion"? Even if you stopped right now, even if every member of your race got on their knees and said sorry, it’s too late. You’ve killed so many, destroyed so much–none of it can be brought back," the words left his lips from the core of his soul.

There was no part of his brain that softened to the idea. It made the taste in his mouth turn sour as every cell in his body revolted against the very concept.

A slight look of disappointment crystallized in the irises of the incinerator, though there was no surprise.

"A shame," Ignatius quietly said.

Across the blackened asphalt, the temperature spiked as steam hissed from all corners of the street. From the ground, the feet of the golden man hovered, incurring rings of fire that spun in the air.

"You are ignorant of the greater picture. Defend your world if you must, but it matters not if this galaxy is swallowed in their corruption," Ignatius warned, commanding a gathering of fire at his hand.

Seven looked up at the shining heat, gathering a swirling air of frost to combat the burning temperatures, "—What the hell are you talking about?!"

It seemed the time for words was at an end as he only received an answer in the form of flames. From above, it rained down; a hellfire like a thousand suns descending on the world.

’He’s still trying to destroy the city? Even while I’m still fighting?!’ The thought surfaced.

He shot both hands up, commanding the frost to gather into thick walls that rose into an ethereal fortress.

The descending fire roared into the blockade, clashing hot and cold as winds of steam whistled into the sky. He sprinted beneath the cover of his crumbling walls, ducking his head beneath the stray embers that broke off.

With the enemy transfixed in the sky above, he formed a ramp of ice ahead, ascending without breaking his pace. He used the momentum of his stride to slide upward, gathering a cold wind at his hand that formed into the shape of a sword of ice.

As he launched himself, he finally seemed to catch the attention of the floating conductor of destruction. Amidst embers and icy shards, he led the way with the sharpened blade of frost, slashing it towards the abdomen above him.

The large target ascended just enough to avoid the length of the frozen sword, instead pointing his palm down towards the human. Seven witnessed four flames merge into a bright-blue core of heat, knowing what was coming.

In mid-air, his options were limited, leaving his mind running rampant. He formed a block of ice at his feet, kicking his boots to propel himself as the azure flames cast itself downwards. As he landed back on the street, he witnessed the pillar of blue fire collide with the surface, burning a hole into the center of the intersection.

’I can do this. I can keep up–’ He thought with a bit of optimism.

His eyes failed to track the shining blur that erupted towards him. As his brain finally reacted, the breath was stolen from his lungs as he was being driven back against his will. A golden forearm was shoved against his neck, driving into him with such force that he was left as a speeding bullet, throwing across the cityscape.

"Ngh!--"

Through walls of concrete, his body crashed until he managed to catch himself, flipping onto his feet. As he rose with a rainfall of sediment trickling from the ceiling of the destroyed bank, a scenery of fire closed in on the building.

Within moments, it was swept in a tidal wave of burning orange, casting it into hell. The heat was more intense than before, bathing the interior of blackened marble in the blaze. He held his ground, pushing the fire back to the best of his ability with his own frost.

["Right now, it’s not just about buying time or overcoming this monster. Right now, I’m being pushed, more than I ever have. With each breath, I’m straddling the fine line between life and death. I can feel it; each cell in my body, throttling with boundless potential–

I’m evolving into somebody capable of protecting mankind."]