After Slicer struck him with a dashing, lightning punch, he plummeted toward the ground, and his landing craved a carved crater. He dragged himself across the dust of the earth, garnished with a field of grazes across his facial features. His body was in agony. For a while, he groaned as the dust surveyed the area he was in. Then, he crawled up to his feet. While doing so, his legs trembled.

"I had him where I wanted, then let him slip from my grasp," He reflected.

As he deliberated, anxiety and doubts overwhelmed him. It felt like someone placed a bag of bricks on his shoulders. The more he contemplated, the more his incredulity increased. Additionally, this warmly welcomed a scourge of mental devastation.

However, who can blame him? The shifting tides plagued his mind with darkness. He was now in a situation that he never desired, as there was a lot on the line, and he had no intention of losing.

Nevertheless, he fought to find the courage within. When he finally stood, he scoured his hazy surroundings, looking for his adversary.

It would seem that Slicer was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" He pondered.

Dread seeped into his bones while the pulse of his heart increased exponentially. A profuse sweat filled his temple while a wooshing sound echoed from behind.

He turned around to face his back. Even when he did that, there was nothing there.

"Where are you?"

Suddenly, Slicer appeared out of nowhere and chopped him in the throat with a spear-hand attack.

Desperate to mend his throat, he cupped his neck again with his right hand; this mistake gave Slicer an opening to capitalize on his vulnerability. Therefore, he threw a powerful punch blow toward Pete's midsection. A spew of blood gushed out from his gaped mouth. Upon landing that decisive blow, he struck him with an uppercut, sending him crashing on top of the nearest vehicle.

As soon as he slammed into the car, he grimaced in agony. He fell to the ground and groaned. Then, in wrath, he hissed and rejected all sense and logic. His emotions subdued and propelled him to attack as he attempted to hit him with a leaping punch. In contrast, Slicer slid under him while the latter's leaping punch missed him.

After that, he turned around upon his landing, only to face Slicer's back.

"This was your chance to avenge your precious Bianca. But look at you now; you can't even land a punch anymore. Pathetic, I should've decapitated her instead."

Influenced by his wrath, Pete flew at him with tremendous speed. When he came in contact with him, he threw a series of lightning-fast blows.

Unfortunately, Slicer dodged his blows by moving his head to the sides.

"I can't hit him; this is not good!" He pondered as Slicer analyzed his fighting techniques.

Bearing witness to his failed attempts, he spoke to himself with jubilance.

"I see; the power of the Phoenix demands the user to focus on honing their skills in a fight. In that way, this allows his power level to increase. When disturbed by emotions, then the user's power level dwindles. In that case, I've done well to evoke his emotions."

Eventually, Slicer grew weary of his feeble attacks. For this reason, he laced his hand around one of his punches and invigorated his grip on it. Pete raised his eyebrows in shock as his mouth gaped open.

"No, not now!" He muttered.

"It looks like you have run out of luck, Golden Boy! The power of the Golden Phoenix has betrayed you."

"No, I refuse to believe you!" He exclaimed.

Slicer dragged him closer by pulling his hair. He struck him with a knee attack. He then ceased him with a chop to the scruff. He fell miserably to the ground from the intensity of that attack. Slicer approached him from behind and placed his foot on his head as he lay flat against the tar road.

"What a disappointment you are, especially for those you care about. Poor Bianca, if only you weren't so helpless in the first place, you wouldn't have lost her!"

Pete furrowed his eyebrows as his eyes welled up with tears. It was only a matter of time til he flooded the ground with his tears. "It's not true I am not a failure!"

Slicer removed his foot from his head and crouched towards his fallen body. He pulled his hair with force, right from behind, and continued to impale his heart with more dagger words.

"Oh really? You had me in your clutches but look at you now, prostrating before me. Oh, Peter, don't tell me that you are crying. You see, your tears confirm how much of a failure you are. As the saying goes, once a failure, always a failure! Now then, allow me to take you out of your misery!"

He poised his finger towards the back of his head as a zap of red electricity hovered around the pores of his finger.

He closed his eyes and accepted his fate. Although Pete could've fought back and retaliated, it seemed his predicament had humbled him.

When he closed his eyes, he opened them once more. Something peculiar took place, as if some mechanism transported him to a realm of some sort.

As he raised his head, he quickly saw the ceiling made of open wooden beams and brackets. He got up to his feet and rubbed his eyes. When he turned to look around, he was astonished to see that he was inside a little chalet comprising three rooms. The space that he was in was a bedroom. It had unpainted, raw wood floors. Then, a recollection of words played repeatedly in his head as he got out of bed and trudged towards the living room.

"Where am I? What am I doing here? Aren't I supposed to be dead?"

When he entered the living room, a dash of rays pierced through the windows, nearly blinding him, he also could hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

As he stepped out of the chalet, his feet marked prints on the fine smooth sand as the gentle zypher gently caressed his skin. A brush of red and orange hues draped the sky.

As he stepped further, a sense of familiarity welcomed him with a breath of fresh air. This inspiring scene hypnotized him while the waves huddled to his feet and cladded him with a mild cold grasp.

"It's beautiful, isn't it, Pete, this scenery," said a gentle voice from behind. A smooth hand fell on his shoulder as he looked to the side.

"Bianca...but...how?" He stuttered, losing track of his words.

She stood by his side and glanced at the sunset with him. She intertwined her fingers with his as his cheeks flushed red.

"Everything will be clear in due time," she said.

"What do you mean everything..." He inquired. She placed her finger on his lips.

"Sshhh, just take a moment to admire this scene." He nodded.

She opened her mouth and began to speak. "I still remember when you used to take me to the beach on weekends, and we'd share memorable stories."

"I also remember. I wish that I could relive those moments once more."

She looked back at him while a smile. He smiled back at her as she continued, "You know what was so special about those moments?"

He shook his head while she answered him.

"...when you vented about your past, specifically when your foster father flogged you mercilessly because you could not progress to the next grade. To this day, you still carry those scars inside of you."

Pete looked down and sagged his shoulders with despondence. He closed his eyes as she continued, "He called you a failure, but then what did you do?"

She grabbed his shoulders as he locked his eyes firmly with hers.

"You worked hard the following year and got distinctions."

He nodded, still inclining to her sweet words, which serenaded into his ears.

"You were never a failure Pete. Despite your setbacks, you still worked diligently to get what you wanted. Therefore, regardless of your outcomes, keep climbing and reach heights beyond your limit!"

She placed her hand on his cheeks and caressed them with a smile.

"I believe in you; I always have. Now it's your turn to believe in yourself."

His eyes shot wide open as conviction bounced off his eyes, much like the sun's rays that reflected off the mirror's surface.

"I am not a failure. I was born to be a conqueror!"

The latter dug deep into his heart and found the courage and the willpower to press forward.

With speed more significant than a flash of lightning, he transitioned away from where he stood and appeared behind him, just slightly above his head.

"What, impossible!" A daunted Slicer exclaimed.

He turned around to face his back, and when he did that, he fell victim to Pete's flying kick.

The force of that kick sent him flying at a great distance. The length of that distance was at least thirty meters.

Pete pursued after him, moving in rapid movement. Eventually, he clasped his hands around his neck and drove his head through the tar.

After that, he propelled him upward, much like a trebuchet would. Yet again, Pete utilized rapid movement and emerged high in the sky at the same height Slicer was launched at.

Like a deer in headlights, the sinister Slicer arched his brows with shock.

He couldn't believe it. It was far beyond his comprehension. A mortal who is supposedly inferior to him surpassed him once more.

Of course, it isn't to say the two were so different.

Both of them began their lives as failures. Their failures propelled them to be the best versions of themselves today. Even so, it was evident that Pete bruised Slicer's ego.

"No, no, no, how can this be happening? The tides of fate were moving in my favor. Now, they've betrayed me again?!" Slicer muttered to himself.

He launched an attack of his own, planning to strike him toward the mandible. Instead, Pete instantly blocked the attack and sidestepped him with a punch toward the bridge of his nose.

Slicer hissed with contempt. He directed his hand at him and launched another lightning sphere at him.

"Don't think you've won because you have the upper hand. Now eat my lightning sphere!"

Pete fired a ball of energy at the lightning sphere. When the two forces collided, an immense explosion erupted. Then, Pete directed his hands at the ball of flames and fired thousands of energy balls at him. From the other side, Slicer bore witness to thousands of energy balls surging at him.

Although he reflected the first few attacks with his blade, he couldn't keep this up as more and more kept coming. Eventually, one hit him. The balls kept coming and garnished him with a coat of flames.

To give himself space, he flew away. Pete emerged above him and called out to him when he did that.

"Hey, Slicer, I'm still not done with you!"

He clasped his hands together and fired a large ki beam. The beam instantly struck him, sending him through several buildings downward.

************

On the outskirts of Singapore, the other Guardians, including Max, had successfully rallied approximately a million citizens outside the city.

The six stood before the masses and glanced toward the upright buildings, epitomizing the rich vastness in the city's heart.

"Great job, everyone. We were able to evacuate everyone from the city." Stated Kuhn Lau.

"Not everything," responded Viper.

"What do you mean?" He questioned, not sure what she meant.

"We may have evacuated everyone, but we did not account for one variable," she answered.

"And what is that?" questioned Ace as he crossed his arms.

"Remember that Slicer is made from Dark Metal, and because of that, his battle with Pete will not end anytime soon. We need to use his strength against him," she said.

**************

Meanwhile, Slicer fired a stroke of lightning bolts from his outstretched fingers. However, Pete dodged the attack and appeared in front of a baffled Slicer.

Then, he punched him in the midsection. After that, he clobbered Slicer with a double axe handle from above the head.

While he fell, Pete emerged from above him once more and grabbed his leg. He grabbed his leg and shoved him through several buildings. He tossed him away after that and stacked his hands on each other.

"This is the end, Slicer! Now feast your eyes on my Destructo Blast!"

He launched a massive energy beam at him. In width, it was equivalent to a road. Then in height, it was equal to a house. When the gigantic beam struck Slicer, it sent him toward the ground. When it made contact with the ground, an explosion erupted. It was no ordinary explosion, towering over seventy-nine meters above the ground. The energy from that beam was so immense that it destroyed nearly half of the city.

A few minutes later, a battered Slicer sat up straight while garnished by a layer of flames. Pete then landed in front of him and gave him a dagger-like look. If looks could kill, one gaze would end his life. He furrowed his brows in anger as his wrath continued to burn.

"You were wrong, Slicer. I am not a failure. I am more than that. I am a conqueror now; it's time I finished what I started!"

He opened his unclenched fist and fixated his palm in his direction. At the tip of his palm, an energy ball started forming. As it grew, an orange electric glint covered it. When it reached the size of his hand, he was about to launch it when his body suddenly gave out.

A sharp sensation prickled his entire body. His muscles ached, and he screamed in agony to protest against him.

He collapsed on his knees as his neurological system shut down instantly. He immediately collapsed to the ground as his aura of flames burned out.

"What's happening to me?" He questioned.

He tried to move his hand but failed to avail no. Now, he was at the mercy of Slicer as he was completely immobile.

Slicer rose as the fire that engulfed him (fire from the explosion) wore out. He cackled and fixated his gaze on an immobile Pete.

"I applaud you, Mr. Atkinson; no one has ever pushed me to this limit. But as you can see, fate has chosen my side once more."

To Be Continued