The group looked into the distance, the long and empty stretch of main road leading to the supercomputer factory. Rays of light illuminated the path but looming shadows of the city towers still made it difficult to make out.
There was definitely a figure in the distance. A figure approaching with a monstrous aura. Ava could feel it. He didn't have much use for scanning energy usage levels aside from during locating certain items during stealth missions, but this time he couldn't help but be curious.
It was as he feared. Sure, the supercomputer was generating a vast amount of energy, Ava too, now that he was still cooling from his limiters being released, was emanating a lot. But the figure in the distance, it was burning bright like the sun. The intensity and power Ava could sense from it was unlike anything her could have ever before imagined. A monster was approaching.
Suddenly, the energy level spiked even higher, enough to give a sharp pang in the head that made him dizzy.
"Ava look out!" Sylvie shouted, she pushed Ava to the ground and followed after him. It was lucky that she did, because in the split second that Ava felt that energy spike, the figure had zoomed towards him at a lightning fast speed, aiming to smash its fist right into Ava's jaw. The power of its dash alone was enough so that, even though the figure missed, the two were thrown back with debris.
Ava lay on the wreckage and looked at the figure, who was standing just a meter past where he was originally standing. It had left a trail of shattered concrete behind it due to the sheer force of its run. It stood there in the attacking position, its fist still out, perfectly still..
"Servs must die." said the figure.
"Sure..." Ava said while standing up, his brow furrowed. He helped Sylvie on her feet, glanced at her, and quickly gestured with his head for her to give him some room. Sylvie nodded in response and ran to the sidelines with Aphrodite and the Class-1."So you're another damn Heretic huh?" he examined the assailant's body as the the smoke from the debris cleared and its figure became more visible. Ava could feel himself tense up, he had a small suspicion of who this Heretic might be.
It had long, sturdy legs, a firm body covered in a gritty black shell, hair that trailed elegantly down its back. A distinctly feminine body with a confident air of authority. It was all so recognisable aside from two features, a crudely made right arm that resembled the Serv replicas, and a black mask that covered its face.
There was no doubt.
It was the Major.
It pained him to see her in this form, the damn virus was unstoppable, it had taken over the most powerful Serv in existence. Someone he respected so much, someone he admired for being the peak of physical and mental perfection as a soldier, she'd been mutated.
Ava would have to defeat her. Somehow.
The Major turned to face Ava.
"Major." Ava stuttered as he tried to think of a way of ending the conflict, "It's me, Ava. You remember me right?" he hoped that maybe she'd respond to him in kind to how the Class-1s would. But no.
"Servs must die!" the Major parroted with rage,
"Please Maj-" before Ava could finish his sentence the Major had already dashed over to him and smashed her fist into his stomach, Ava didn't even have time to reel over in pain, she kneed him in the face and kicked him straight down to the ground. Her final move was to jump into the air with her spear out and come crashing down onto Ava's vulnerable body, but she failed. Just a split second before she spear landed, Ava concentrated and unlocked every single lock that was limiting his body's movement and senses. Once again his body felt free and his senses were heightened. Suddenly the attack from The Major, which was originally lightning fast, was telegraphed enough to see. And to dodge.
Ava rolled out of the way just before the spear landed, narrowly avoiding certain death.
The spear was now lodged deep into the concrete, The Major was clearly surprised by Ava's increased ability so it took a moment for her to realise that she needed to pull it out, that moment was all that Ava needed to run over to her and deny her access to her weapon.
Ava pulled out his baton and bashed the side of the spear, causing it to dent. Thankfully his baton was still in good condition after the attack, so he was at a advantage.
Maybe.
He felt his stomach, it was a blistering pain, and yet... it didn't seem right. One hit from the Major should've been enough to shatter him to bits. What happened?
"Die Serv!" The Major growled. She pounced on Ava like an animal and tried to punch him square in the jaw. This time Ava was able to see the attack, he dodged within a hair's breadth and almost lost his balance. Unfortunately that one dodge wasn't enough as the Major followed up with another punch as she spun around and hit him square beneath the ribs.
Ava staggered and then lifted his arms to block. It was lucky that he did, because the Major had decided to throw a flurry of punches his way, hundreds and hundreds of punches aimed square at his body, all within the span of a couple of seconds.
It was lucky Ava was unlocked his limiters. To him the attacks at the very least, looked to be happening at a feasible speed, everything else around him seemed to be moving in slow motion, with the Major still moving quite fast, but not so fast that the eye couldn't follow her.
Still.
It was incredible. Even with his perception of time slowed him, he had to try his best to keep track of her attacks.
Was this what it was like to have the Major's power? Was this how she lived every day? How did she manage to control herself?
Suddenly the Major's rather stoic and emotionless personality started to make sense.
Either way Ava was still having no luck finding a way to subdue her.
It was now three seconds since the flurry of punches had started, she must have punched him a thousand times at this point. Why weren't his arms shattered yet? It wasn't like unlocking his limiters made the material his body was made of any stronger. How did he manage to withstand such an attack!?
Then Ava noticed.
The Major was using her right hand. Yes, thinking about it, she'd used her right hand for every attack this whole fight. And why would she just use one arm for a flurry of attacks? It was clear why, because her right arm was significantly weaker.
Looking at it, the arm was taking damage from fighting Ava with such intensity. No surprise, unlike the rest of the Major's body, which was optimised for her phenomenal fighting style, the new arm was crudely built, wasn't made of good materials, and simply wasn't as strong.
This was the arm the Major was using the whole fight. Even though she never favoured one arm over another when she usually fought. Ava grit his teeth and caught her fist, he then punched her square in the jaw, smashing her black mask and exposing her face.
The look on her face was that of hate and disdain. She looked like a rabid animal. Yet at the same time there was a certain look of loss in her eyes, as if they had no focus at all. It looked like she was looking far into the distance, that something else was using her body as a vessel and her own mind was lost somewhere inside.
Of course, that's exactly what was happening.
The jab wasn't enough to do any significant damage at all. A cracked mask meant nothing, if anything, seeing the Major's hypnotised face just made the fight harder.
The Major didn't care about her mask, the rest of it smashed off as she headbutted Ava square in the forehead. She pushed him back several feet and dizzied him in the process.
"Die!" she continued to growl. She pulled out a dagger from her waist. "Servs must die!"
Ava had no idea what to do. The Major was holding back, somewhere deep inside her she was still conscious, and she was trying to give him an opening. To do what?
He looked at her as she approached. She was having trouble making her way to him, trembling with every step.
"S-s-servs... must... die..." she stammered, as she got closer and over.
"Major?" said Ava, "are you in there?"
"A-Ava!" the Major started to pant, "Y-you need to hack me!" life returned to her eyes for a moment, "I...I can't-" The Major stumbled and dropped her knife, she grabbed her head and screamed, "Aaaarggghhh!" the pain was unbearable, "get rid of this thing that's inside me!"
Her body started to tense up and steam emanated from her joints. She looked at Ava once again. Those dead eyes were back.
"Servs MUST DIE!" she yelled and ran at full speed towards Ava. Ava readied himself. Hacking the Major would've been the only way out of this situation.
But Ava had unlocked his limiters.
He'd lost the ability to hack.