ROOFTOP – MIDAS vs MALPOYL
Midas attacked immediately.
His golden hands shot toward Malpoyl's throat. A direct, powerful strike, charged with rage.
Malpoyl dodged. Effortlessly. A slight sway. His feet slid across the asphalt.
"Too slow."
He struck. An open palm to Midas's back. Not hard. Just enough to unbalance him.
Midas turned, struck again. Empty.
"You're angry. That's your problem. Anger makes you predictable."
Malpoyl stepped back. Around him, holograms appeared. A dozen. All identical. Same posture. Same smile.
"Kage no Renzoku. The continuity of shadows."
He shifted from one image to another. Midas struck. The image dissipated.
"Here."
A blow to the kidneys. Midas pivoted. The image dissipated.
"There."
A blow to the back of the neck. Midas fell to his knees. Got up. Struck the ground.
A wave of gold erupted from the asphalt. The holograms dissipated. Malpoyl jumped onto the edge of the roof.
"Not bad. But you'll have to do better."
He jumped.
Midas pursued him.
---
ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS – THE DANCE
Malpoyl danced. Literally.
He shifted from hologram to hologram, gliding, spinning, dodging like a slick back dancer. His feet grazed the edges, his arms moved with almost mocking grace.
Midas followed. He struck with fists, feet, head. Nothing. He grabbed empty air, holograms that dissipated under his fingers.
"You're slow, little insect."
Midas jumped. His golden hand transformed into a blade, flexible, malleable. He slashed.
Malpoyl shifted to a hologram above him.
His foot came down.
Midas crashed through the roof, landing on a pedestrian bridge above a highway. Cars sped below. The sky was blue. The wind blew.
Malpoyl landed in front of him.
"You're still standing. That's something."
He attacked. Flow activated. His fists struck at full speed, precise, economical, devastating blows. Each impact shook the bridge.
Midas took it. Stepped back. Took it.
CLANG.
His body turned to gold. Malpoyl's fist struck the gold, bounced off.
Midas lunged at him.
Malpoyl dodged. Too fast.
Midas struck the ground. Pillars of gold erupted, propelling him toward Malpoyl.
He attacked.
Malpoyl parried. Stepped back. Attacked.
But his blows grew weaker. Midas's gold was too hard. His knuckles bled. A crack appeared on his stomach.
BAM.
A golden spike pierced his abdomen.
Malpoyl shifted to a hologram, ten meters away. He held his stomach. Blood. A lot of blood.
"…Well played."
Midas approached. Cold. Unflinching.
Malpoyl stepped back.
"Hey, hey, hey… calm down."
He raised his hands.
"Okay, let's talk. Your girl, I know her. I just carried out my contract. Protect Onizuka. It's his gang that planned everything."
Midas stopped.
"Who asked you to do it?"
Malpoyl looked at him.
"A guy. His name is Perfecto."
Midas's world collapsed.
Perfecto. His friend. His confidant. The one who had planned everything, orchestrated everything. The one who had sworn to help him avenge Gap, to build a new world.
Perfecto.
Rage rose. Pain rose. Betrayal.
Malpoyl took advantage. He lunged at Midas. A flurry of blows. Midas, dazed, stepped back. Malpoyl fled, one hand on his pierced stomach.
Midas didn't pursue him.
He stood there, on the bridge, his golden hands trembling.
Perfecto.
---
HOSPITAL – WAITING ROOM
Sharky leaned against the wall. He watched the doctor approach.
"I'm sorry."
The doctor lowered his eyes.
"You have to choose. We can't save both the mother and the child."
Sharky straightened up.
"What?"
"Either we deliver the baby at the risk of killing the mother. Or we save the mother at the risk of losing the baby."
Sharky clenched his fists.
"Wait for Midas to arrive."
---
WILLIAM'S ROOM
William was awake. The doctors had said he would never walk again.
Midas entered. He sat on the edge of the bed.
"Tell me everything."
William looked at him. He saw the red eyes, the trembling hands, the contained rage.
"Perfecto."
The name fell.
"He planned everything. The attack. The kidnapping. The bullets. Everything."
Silence.
Midas shed a tear.
The room turned to gold.
The walls. The floor. The ceiling. William, frozen in his bed, eyes wide.
Midas didn't look at him.
He stood up.
"PERFECTOOOOO!"
His voice echoed through the entire hospital.
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"
He walked out.
Gold crunched under his steps.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…